Reuters World News Summary

But at the Group of Seven summit that she hosted in southern Italy this week, Meloni showed she had some red lines dear to her nationalist camp that she was ready to fight for, especially issues relating to the family and reproduction rights. Trump visits Detroit church in bid to court Black voters Donald Trump ventured on Saturday where few Republican presidential candidates tread – the city of Detroit, attending a community forum as part of a push to peel Black voters from President Joe Biden ahead of November’s election.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Sweden and Iran exchange prisoners in breakthrough deal

Sweden and Iran carried out a prisoner exchange on Saturday, officials said, with Sweden freeing a former Iranian official convicted for his role in a mass execution in the 1980s while Iran released two Swedes being held there. The prisoner swap was mediated by Oman, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement. "Omani efforts resulted in the two sides agreeing on a mutual release, as those released were transferred from Tehran and Stockholm," it said.

Brazilian women march against bill tightening abortion ban

Thousands of women protested on Saturday against a bill advancing in Brazil's conservative Congress that would equate abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy to homicide and establish sentences of six to 20 years in prison. The demonstrators marched along Sao Paulo's main Paulista Avenue carrying banners rejecting the proposal, which they call the most repressive approach to women's reproductive rights in decades.

Italy's Meloni shows her arch-conservative credentials at G7 summit

Since taking office in 2022, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has proved a pragmatic partner on major international issues, assuaging fears she would be a dogmatic conservative unwilling to compromise. But at the Group of Seven summit that she hosted in southern Italy this week, Meloni showed she had some red lines dear to her nationalist camp that she was ready to fight for, especially issues relating to the family and reproduction rights.

Trump visits Detroit church in bid to court Black voters

Donald Trump ventured on Saturday where few Republican presidential candidates tread – the city of Detroit, attending a community forum as part of a push to peel Black voters from President Joe Biden ahead of November's election. Trump's appearance at a Black church drew a mix of curious local residents and die-hard supporters, but little in the way of protest.

The Dutchman who gets Nike and Lego into wartime Russia's stores

Nike stopped selling its sportswear to Russia soon after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine over two years ago. But that hasn't stopped footballstore.ru, an online sports retailer owned by Russia's Zenit soccer club. Among the dozens of Nike-branded items the site offers are the U.S. sportswear maker's Phantom GT2 Elite soccer boots, for 29,999 roubles, or around $330.

World leaders join Ukraine summit in test of Kyiv's peace push

World leaders gathered at a Swiss Alpine resort on Saturday to seek broader consensus for Ukraine's peace proposals at a summit shunned by China and dismissed as a waste of time by Russia, which pushed its own rival ceasefire plans from afar. More than 90 countries took part, but China's absence in particular dimmed hopes the summit would show Russia as globally isolated, while recent military reverses have put Kyiv on the back foot. The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has also diverted the world's attention from Ukraine.

UK polls point to 'electoral extinction' for Prime Minister Sunak's Conservatives

Three British opinion polls released late on Saturday presented a grim picture for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party, and one pollster warned that the party faced "electoral extinction" in July 4's election. The polls come just over halfway through the election campaign, after a week in which both the Conservatives and Labour set out their manifestos, and shortly before voters begin to receive postal ballots.

Eight Israeli soldiers killed as fighting continues in Rafah

Eight Israeli soldiers were killed in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, the military said, as forces continued to push in and around the southern city of Rafah and strikes hit several areas of Gaza, killing at least 19 Palestinians. The soldiers, all members of a combat engineering unit, were in an armoured carrier that was hit by an explosion that detonated engineering materials being carried on the vehicle, apparently in contravention of standard practice, the military said. It said the early morning incident, in the Tel al-Sultan area in the west of Rafah, was being investigated.

Thousands march in France in pre-election protest against far right

Thousands marched in Paris and cities across France on Saturday to protest against the far-right National Rally (RN) ahead of upcoming elections to the French parliament. Following the RN's surge in last Sunday's European elections, police said 350,000 people were expected to march and 21,000 officers had been mobilised after labour unions, student groups and rights groups called for rallies to oppose the anti-immigration, eurosceptic party.

CNN rules for first US presidential debate: no props, muted microphones

The first U.S. presidential debate between incumbent Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump on June 27 will include two commercial breaks, no props and muted microphones except when recognized to speak, CNN said Saturday. In May, the candidates agreed to face off in two debates including one this month that will be moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash in Atlanta, while the other on Sept. 10 will be hosted by ABC.

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