Reuters World News Summary

French President Emmanuel Macron had said on Monday that Western allies should exclude no options in seeking to avert a Russian victory in Ukraine, though he stressed there was no consensus at this stage. Biden: Israel agrees to halt military activity in Gaza during Ramadan U.S. President Joe Biden said Israel has agreed not to engage in military activities during Ramadan in Gaza, where it is at war with Hamas militants, and said the Jewish state risked losing support from the rest of the world as Palestinians die in high numbers.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Analysis-Macron's Ukraine troop talk shakes up NATO allies

French President Emmanuel Macron wanted to create "strategic ambiguity" by openly discussing the idea of sending Western troops to Ukraine, but he was so ambiguous that he sparked confusion and irritation among some allies. Macron's comments at a late-night news conference, after he hosted a meeting of Western leaders to rally support for Ukraine, fitted with his reputation as a diplomatic disruptor who likes to break taboos and challenge conventional thinking.

Brazil's Lula to discuss Esequibo, election with Venezuela's Maduro

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva plans a bilateral meeting this week with Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro to discuss Venezuela's upcoming general election and its border dispute with Guyana. Brazil has been trying to broker dialogue between its two neighbors since Venezuela revived its claim to Guyana's oil-rich Esequibo area, having already hosted both parties for meetings.

Houthis say they can reassess Red Sea attacks if Israeli 'aggression' stops

Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday they could only reconsider their missile and drone attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea once Israel ends its "aggression" in the Gaza Strip. Asked if they would halt the attacks if a ceasefire deal is reached, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters the situation would be reassessed if the siege of Gaza ended and humanitarian aid was free to enter.

Gaza's warring enemies cautious over truce talks after Biden says deal nearing

Israel and Hamas as well as Qatari mediators all sounded notes of caution on Tuesday about progress towards a truce in Gaza, after U.S. President Joe Biden said he believed a ceasefire could be reached in under a week to halt the war for Ramadan. Hamas is weighing a proposal, agreed by Israel at talks with mediators in Paris last week, for a 40-day ceasefire, which would be the first extended truce of the five-month-old war. Both sides have delegations in Qatar this week hammering out details.

Thousands told to flee homes in Australia amid heat spike, bushfire threat

Tens of thousands of residents in Australia's southeast were told to evacuate on Wednesday due to an intense heatwave that authorities said could further spread a massive bushfire in Victoria state, which faces its worst conditions in four years. Extreme fire ratings have been issued for large parts of Victoria with the Wimmera region in the west given a catastrophic ranking, the top warning level. Mildura, a rural city of about 56,000, could touch 45 degree Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Ukraine says Russia will step up its hybrid attacks in spring

Russia will escalate an ongoing influence operation this spring aimed at destabilising Ukraine and scuppering international support for Kyiv in its two-year-old war with Moscow, Ukrainian intelligence warned on Tuesday. Ukraine is struggling to fend off Russian troops along much of the front line as Kyiv faces challenges in replenishing its ranks and a potential cut in U.S. military aid.

One quarter of Gaza's people one step away from famine, UN says

At least 576,000 people in the Gaza Strip - one quarter of the population - are one step away from famine, a senior U.N. aid official told the Security Council on Tuesday, warning that widespread famine could be "almost inevitable" without action. "Very little will be possible while hostilities continue and while there is a risk that they will spread into the overcrowded areas in the south of Gaza. We therefore reiterate our call for a ceasefire," said Ramesh Rajasingham, coordination director of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Top Putin ally pledges Russian help in countering U.S. in Latin America - TASS

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a top ally of President Vladimir Putin, pledged on Monday to help Latin American countries counter what he described as U.S. attempts to interfere in their internal affairs. He made his comments in Nicaragua, led by former Marxist guerrilla Daniel Ortega, after meeting Cuba's former leader Raul Castro in Havana.

NATO allies rule out sending troops to Ukraine as Russia rebukes Macron

The United States and key European allies said on Tuesday they had no plans to send ground troops to Ukraine, after France hinted at the possibility, and the Kremlin warned that any such move would inevitably lead to conflict between Russia and NATO. French President Emmanuel Macron had said on Monday that Western allies should exclude no options in seeking to avert a Russian victory in Ukraine, though he stressed there was no consensus at this stage.

Biden: Israel agrees to halt military activity in Gaza during Ramadan

U.S. President Joe Biden said Israel has agreed not to engage in military activities during Ramadan in Gaza, where it is at war with Hamas militants, and said the Jewish state risked losing support from the rest of the world as Palestinians die in high numbers. Biden, who made his remarks during an appearance on NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers," said Israel had committed to make it possible for Palestinians to evacuate from Rafah in Gaza's south before intensifying its campaign there to destroy Hamas.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)