Reuters World News Summary

The SBU immediately dismissed the Russian demand as "pointless" and said the Russian ministry had "forgotten" that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was the subject of an international arrest warrant. Tens of thousands rally against Netanyahu government in Jerusalem Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Jerusalem on Sunday against Benjamin Netanyahu's government and against exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from military service, in scenes reminiscent of mass street protests last year.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia seeks extradition of Ukraine security service head; Ukraine rejects demand

Russia is demanding that Ukraine hand over all people connected with terrorist acts committed in Russia, including the head of the country's SBU Security Service, the foreign ministry said on Sunday. The SBU immediately dismissed the Russian demand as "pointless" and said the Russian ministry had "forgotten" that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was the subject of an international arrest warrant.

Tens of thousands rally against Netanyahu government in Jerusalem

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Jerusalem on Sunday against Benjamin Netanyahu's government and against exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from military service, in scenes reminiscent of mass street protests last year. Protest groups, including some that led the mass demonstrations that rocked Israel in 2023, organised the rally outside parliament, the Knesset, calling for a new election to replace the government.

Philippines boosts maritime security as China tension rises

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has ordered his government to strengthen its coordination on maritime security to confront "a range of serious challenges" to territorial integrity and peace, as a dispute with China escalates. The order, signed on Monday and made public on Sunday, does not mention China but follows a series of bilateral maritime confrontations and mutual accusations over a disputed area of the South China Sea.

Fighting rages across Gaza amid revival of truce talks

Israeli strikes killed 77 Palestinians in Gaza in the past 24 hours, health authorities said on Sunday, as Egypt hosted an Israeli delegation for a new round of talks in a bid to secure a truce with Gaza's Hamas rulers. The Israeli military said it killed a senior Islamic Jihad militant in a strike on a command centre in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza. It did not mention his name or rank.

Turkey's resurgent opposition thumps Erdogan in pivotal local elections

Turks dealt President Tayyip Erdogan and his party their biggest electoral blow on Sunday in a nationwide local vote that reasserted the opposition as a political force and reinforced Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as the president's chief rival. With most of the votes counted, Imamoglu led by 10 percentage points in the mayoral race in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, while his Republican People's Party (CHP) retained Ankara and gained 15 other mayoral seats in cities nationwide.

Pope Francis, in Easter address, calls for Gaza ceasefire

Pope Francis called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all Israeli hostages in an Easter Sunday address that marked the most important day on the Christian calendar by deploring the suffering caused by wars. The pontiff presided over Mass in a packed and flower-bedecked St Peter's Square, and then delivered his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing and message from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

Residence of Libyan PM targeted with RPGs, no casualties reported, minister says

The residence of Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah was targeted with rocket-propelled grenades on Sunday in an attack that left no casualties, a Libyan minister told Reuters. The minister, who spoke in condition of anonymity, confirmed in a message that the attack only caused some damage. The minister has not disclosed any further details.

Russian attacks kill three in eastern Ukraine, two in the west in Lviv

Russian shelling killed at least three people in different regions of eastern Ukraine on the front of the more than two-year-old war against Russia, local officials said, and two more in Lviv region, far from the front lines. In the centre of the northeastern city of Kharkiv, a frequent target of Russia's intensifying assaults on energy and other infrastructure, regional governor Oleh Synehubov said a strike targeted civilian infrastructure in the evening.

Imamoglu, the Turkish mayor following in Erdogan's footsteps

Newly re-elected Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has emerged as the main challenger to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's reign. But in some ways, he is following in the footsteps of the Turkish leader who ran the city in the 1990s. Aside from having led the country's biggest city, both have family roots in the eastern Black Sea region and both their political careers have been impeded by Turkey's courts. In their youth, both were keen footballers too.

Israel's Netanyahu will undergo hernia surgery on Sunday, his office says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will undergo surgery on Sunday for a hernia, his office said, at a time when he is waging a war against Hamas in Gaza, and less than a year after he was fitted with a pacemaker. "On Saturday night, during a routine checkup for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a hernia was found," his office said in a statement, adding that the 74-year-old leader will be under general anaesthetic during his surgery later on Sunday.