Reuters World News Summary

Turkish assets weakened on the news, which showed Erdogan only just below the 50% threshold needed to avoid sending the NATO-member country to a second round of a presidential election viewed as passing judgment on his autocratic rule. G7 to show unity on China approach while recognizing individual ties -US officials The G7 summit U.S. President Joe Biden attends in Japan this week will show leaders unified behind a common approach to dealing with China based on shared values, even while recognizing each country will manage its own relationship with Beijing, a senior U.S. administration official said on Monday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Ukraine hails gains in Bakhmut as Zelenskiy wins more weapons in Europe

Ukraine on Monday hailed its first substantial battlefield advances in six months as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy won pledges for new long-range drones in Britain to add to a haul of Western arms for a counteroffensive against Russian invaders. Since last week, the Ukrainian military has started to push Russian forces back in and around the embattled city of Bakhmut, its first significant offensive operations since its troops recaptured the southern city of Kherson in November.

US candidate Amy Pope wins tense contest to run UN migration agency

Former White House adviser Amy Pope was elected to head the U.N. migration agency, prevailing on Monday in a tense contest against a Portuguese incumbent who had the support of European countries. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Pope would become the first woman to lead it when she begins her five-year term on Oct. 1.

Russia denounces Macron over China comments

Russian officials on Monday denounced comments by French President Emmanuel Macron that Moscow was becoming subservient to China, saying Western countries must get used to a world underpinned by the Kremlin's close ties with Beijing. The Russian criticism focused on an interview Macron gave to the Paris daily l'Opinion in which he decried the Kremlin's isolation brought on by its invasion of Ukraine more than 14 months ago.

Turkey faces election runoff, Erdogan seen with momentum

President Tayyip Erdogan led comfortably on Monday after the first round of Turkey's presidential election, with his rival facing an uphill struggle to prevent the president extending his rule into a third decade in a runoff vote on May 28. Turkish assets weakened on the news, which showed Erdogan only just below the 50% threshold needed to avoid sending the NATO-member country to a second round of a presidential election viewed as passing judgment on his autocratic rule.

G7 to show unity on China approach while recognizing individual ties -US officials

The G7 summit U.S. President Joe Biden attends in Japan this week will show leaders unified behind a common approach to dealing with China based on shared values, even while recognizing each country will manage its own relationship with Beijing, a senior U.S. administration official said on Monday. Biden's Japan visit will show that Washington can both support Ukraine and maintain an unprecedented level of engagement with the Indo-Pacific region, the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Senegal opposition leader appeals conviction threatening his presidential bid

Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has appealed a libel conviction that could prevent him running in presidential elections next year, one of his lawyers said, as another round of protests broke out on Monday. Last week, Sonko received a suspended six-month sentence for libel stemming from his accusations that the minister of tourism had embezzled funds.

Xi: Strong China-Eritrea ties part of keeping peace in Horn of Africa

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday strong China-Eritrea relations were key to bolstering peace in the Horn of Africa region and pursuing mutually beneficial development, speaking at a meeting in Beijing with his Eritrean counterpart. Eritrea has strategic importance for China given its location on the Red Sea, one of the world's key shipping corridors with access to both to the Suez Canal and Europe to the north and the Indian Ocean to the southeast.

Air strikes pound Sudan's capital as conflict enters second month

The Sudanese army carried out air strikes in the north of the capital Khartoum on Monday, attacking its paramilitary rivals around a hospital that witnesses said was damaged in the bombardment. Intense battles in Khartoum and its sister cities of Bahri and Omdurman have raged despite Saudi and U.S.-brokered talks between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Jeddah aimed at securing humanitarian access and a ceasefire.

Ukrainian troops gird for counteroffensive they hope will end war

Ukrainian soldiers training for a counteroffensive against Russian forces said on Monday they felt ready to launch the assault which they hope will end the war. Members of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade practiced setting up and packing away their mortars as the sun beat down on them in fields in the southern region of Dnipropetrovsk.

New Zealand hostel fire leaves at least six dead

A fire at a multi-story hostel on Tuesday in Wellington, New Zealand, has left at last six people dead and officials warned the number could rise. “There are still a number of people unaccounted for, but this number, along with the number of deaths, cannot be confirmed at this time,” Fire and Emergency Services New Zealand (FENZ) said.