Reuters World News Summary

U.S. hostage affairs envoy Adam Boehler has the authority to talk directly with Hamas, the White House said when asked about the discussions, which broke with a decades-old policy against negotiating with groups that the U.S. brands as terrorist organizations. Trump says Ukraine willing to negotiate, Russia 'ready for peace' U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which the Ukrainian leader expressed willingness to come to the negotiating table over the Russia-Ukraine war.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Israel's settler pressure on West Bank villages stirs annexation fears

Just metres from the last houses in Bardala, a Palestinian village at the northern end of the occupied West Bank, Israel's army has been bulldozing a dirt road and ditch between the community and open grazing land on the hills behind it. Israel's military told Reuters the works were for security and to allow it to patrol the area following the killing of an Israeli civilian in August near the village by a man from another town. It did not detail what it was building there.

Trump warns Hamas as US holds unprecedented talks for Gaza hostages

The United States broke a longstanding diplomatic taboo by holding secret talks with Hamas on securing the release of U.S. hostages held in Gaza, sources told Reuters on Wednesday, while President Donald Trump warned of "hell to pay" should the Palestinian militant group not comply. U.S. hostage affairs envoy Adam Boehler has the authority to talk directly with Hamas, the White House said when asked about the discussions, which broke with a decades-old policy against negotiating with groups that the U.S. brands as terrorist organizations.

Trump says Ukraine willing to negotiate, Russia 'ready for peace'

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which the Ukrainian leader expressed willingness to come to the negotiating table over the Russia-Ukraine war. "Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians," Trump said in an address to Congress on Tuesday while quoting from the letter.

Britain, France refine Ukraine peace plan with new Washington trip in mind

France and Britain are aiming to finalise with Ukraine, possibly "in days", a peace plan to present to the United States, while building bridges between the U.S. and Ukraine before possible talks in Washington, diplomats said. President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer have held several calls, separately, with Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskiy since the presidents of the U.S. and Ukraine held a fractious meeting last Friday in the Oval Office that led to a suspension of U.S. military aid to Kyiv.

US cuts intelligence sharing for Ukraine, adding pressure for Russia peace deal

The U.S. has paused intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said on Wednesday, piling pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to cooperate with U.S. President Donald Trump in convening peace talks with Russia. The suspension, which could cost lives by hurting Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russian missile strikes, followed a halt this week to U.S. military aid to Kyiv. It underscores Trump's willingness to play hardball with an ally as he pivots to a more conciliatory approach to Moscow from previously strong U.S. support for Ukraine.

Combative Trump declares 'America is back'. Here's what his voters made of it

U.S. President Donald Trump's address to Congress on Tuesday received high marks from a group of voters who backed the president in November's election, saying in interviews they supported his promises to cut taxes, reshape the government and crack down on immigration. From diehard supporters of Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement to voters who consider themselves more centrist, the following eight people represent a cross-section of the Americans who helped re-elect Trump. Shortly after the 99-minute address ended, they shared their reactions with Reuters.

Explainer: How the West uses Russia's frozen reserves to help Ukraine

With President Donald Trump's suspension of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, European nations are again looking at how to utilise some $300 billion of Russian state assets frozen by the Group of Seven rich democracies after Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Here is what has been done so far and some of the other ideas under consideration:

Pope Francis in stable condition, resumes some work, Vatican says

Pope Francis, who has been struggling to overcome double pneumonia for almost three weeks, remained in stable condition throughout the day on Wednesday and has not had any new breathing crises, the Vatican said. The 88-year-old pope was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 with a severe respiratory infection that has required continuously evolving treatment.

Mozambique police fire on opposition march, leader's location unknown

Mozambican police fired on supporters of opposition leader Venancio Mondlane marching in the capital Maputo on Wednesday, injuring at least 10 people, Mondlane's team and a human rights researcher said. A police spokesperson confirmed that law enforcement had dispersed marchers but declined to elaborate.

Russian missile attack kills two, injures 28 in Ukraine's Kryvyi Rih

A Russian missile smashed into a hotel in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih late on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring 28, the regional governor said. Serhiy Lysak, governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, said on the Telegram messaging app that a child was among the injured. Several people were seriously hurt, he said.

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