Reuters World News Summary

On the visit through Feb. 22, Turner will meet with government officials, activists and North Korean defectors, the department said in a news release on its website on Friday. Russia's military drone production ramping up, says defence minister Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said in footage published by his ministry on Saturday that the country's production of military drones had ramped up in the past year, though certain technical issues still needed tackling.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russian drones kill 7 people, including 3 children, in Ukraine's Kharkiv

Russia launched a drone attack on Ukraine's city of Kharkiv, killing seven people, including three small children, triggering blazes and damaging infrastructure and residential houses, regional officials said on Saturday. Oleh Synehubov, Kharkiv regional governor, said the Russian forces struck the city late on Friday, hitting civilian infrastructure, causing several large fires, and damaging at least 15 residential houses in the east of Kharkiv.

Pakistan ex-PMs and bitter rivals Sharif and Khan both claim poll win

Former Pakistani prime ministers and bitter rivals Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan on Friday both declared victory in elections marred by delayed results and militant attacks, throwing the country into further political turmoil. Sharif's party won the most seats by a single party in Thursday's election, but supporters of imprisoned Khan, who ran as independents instead of as a single bloc after his party was barred from the polls, won the most seats overall.

Huge rallies in Indonesia as candidates finish election campaign

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Indonesia's presidential contenders packed final rallies in the capital Jakarta and the Central Java city of Solo on Saturday, ahead of the world's biggest single-day election. Candidates enter a cooling-off period on Sunday, running through election day on Wednesday, when voters will choose among three contestants running to succeed the hugely popular President Joko Widodo, who has led Indonesia for a decade and cannot run again.

US special envoy on North Korea to visit Tokyo, Seoul

The U.S. special envoy on North Korean human rights issues, Julie Turner, will travel to Tokyo and Seoul from Monday, the State Department said. On the visit through Feb. 22, Turner will meet with government officials, activists and North Korean defectors, the department said in a news release on its website on Friday.

Russia's military drone production ramping up, says defence minister

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said in footage published by his ministry on Saturday that the country's production of military drones had ramped up in the past year, though certain technical issues still needed tackling. Russia has made extensive use of drones in the course of the almost two year-long military campaign in Ukraine, but has often had to rely on cheap Iranian-made Shahed drones.

Ukraine aid bill inches forward in US Senate

The U.S. Senate on Friday edged closer to passing a bill that includes $95.34 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but faces an uncertain path to becoming law due to Republican opposition in both chambers of Congress. The Senate voted 64-19 to advance the legislation one step along a chain of preliminary votes that could stretch into next week, unless party leaders can reach agreement with rank-and-file lawmakers to fast-track the bill. Lawmakers expect to take the next procedural step in a rare Sunday session.

Taiwan reports Chinese balloons at start of New Year holiday

Taiwan's defence ministry said on Saturday it had detected eight Chinese balloons crossing the Taiwan Strait in the previous 24 hours, two of which flew across the island, in an uptick of activity at the start of the Lunar New Year holiday. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory despite the strong objections of the government in Taipei, has complained since December about the balloons, saying they are a threat to aviation safety and attempt at psychological warfare.

Palestinians brace for Rafah assault as Israel promises evacuation plan

Israeli air strikes killed 17 people in Gaza's Rafah overnight, medics said on Saturday, as over a million Palestinians cramming into the border city await a full-blown offensive with the rest of their enclave in ruins and nowhere left to run. Four months into the war in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it has ordered the military to develop a plan to evacuate the population of Rafah and destroy four Hamas battalions it says are deployed there.

Student killed in Senegal at Friday's vote delay protests -ministry

A student was killed in the Senegalese city of Saint-Louis amid Friday's violent protests against the postponement of the presidential election, the interior ministry said on Saturday. Clashes between security forces and protesters gripped Senegal's capital and other cities on Friday, the first widespread unrest over the delay of a vote that many fear could lead to protracted instability.

Panama denies Nicaragua's request to allow ex-Panamanian president's exit

Panama denied a request from Nicaragua to allow safe passage for ex-President Ricardo Martinelli to leave the country, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday, after Nicaragua granted asylum to the former Panamanian leader. Martinelli is a declared presidential candidate in Panama's upcoming May election, but a nearly 11-year prison sentence handed down last year for money laundering has cast doubt on his ability to run for his old job.