Reuters World News Summary

Ukrainian authorities said that Russian drones and missiles had pounded the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other cities early on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people and wounding more than 100 following days of warnings about Moscow's plans for a major assault. Venezuela's Rodriguez to discuss energy ties during India visit from June 3-7 Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez will visit India from June 3 to June 7, India's foreign ministry said on Tuesday, at a time when New Delhi is ramping up its crude imports from Caracas.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Lebanon announces partial ceasefire between Israel, Hezbollah but attacks continue

Lebanon announced a partial ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel on Monday in what would amount to a limited de-escalation of a conflict that has killed thousands of people and inflamed the broader U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. According to Lebanon's embassy in Washington, the agreement would not end the conflict in ​that country. But it calls for Israel to refrain from strikes on Beirut and its suburbs controlled by Hezbollah, while the Iran-aligned group would halt its attacks on Israel.

Iran studying deal to halt war as stalemate persists

Iran is reviewing a proposed ​agreement with the U.S. to halt their war, Iranian media reported on Tuesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said talks to reach a deal were continuing. More than three months ‌after the U.S. and Israel ​launched strikes against Iran, the conflict has hardened into a stalemate while efforts to negotiate an interim deal have proved inconclusive, leaving the Strait of Hormuz largely shut.

Pope Leo names EWTN executive as first woman to lead Vatican communications

Pope Leo named an executive with U.S. Catholic media conglomerate EWTN as the new head of the Vatican's communications department on Tuesday, in the first appointment of a woman to the senior Church role. Maria Montserrat Alvarado, originally from Mexico City, will lead the Vatican's Dicastery for Communications, a sprawling operation that oversees the Vatican's news portal, radio station, newspaper and press office, among other entities.

WHO says suspected Ebola cases drop to 116 after hundreds ruled out

The World Health Organization said there have been 321 confirmed cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo outbreak and 116 suspected cases, marking a large drop in the number of suspected ‌cases as hundreds were ruled out after investigation. The agency said on Tuesday there had been 48 deaths and six people had recovered in Congo. The Congolese authorities first put out the new case numbers on Monday.

Sweden prepares prisons for 13-year-old gang killers

A surge in gang-related shootings and bombings over the last decade, dozens of which were carried out by minors, has set Sweden apart from its European peers and left authorities an urgent problem: what to do with children who kill. The government, in power since 2022 and heading into a tight election in September where crime is a key issue, says the softly-softly approach of the past has failed and it's time to get tough by sending children aged under 15 to prison rather than into social care.

UN warns funding cuts could worsen Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh

The U.N. refugee agency warned on Tuesday that declining humanitarian funding could significantly worsen conditions for around 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, nearly nine years after they fled Myanmar, as aid groups struggle to sustain essential services. As global crises multiply and donor budgets tighten, the United Nations and its partners are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain support for one of the world’s largest refugee populations.

In France's ‌poor, diverse suburbs, Melenchon's hard left charts a path to the presidency

When Bassi Konate became mayor of Sarcelles this spring, the independent candidate backed by the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party ended three decades of municipal rule by the Socialists, the traditional powerhouse of the French left. A native of Sarcelles, a poor, multi-cultural town north of Paris, Konate, 38, leveraged his hometown roots and a network of rappers, soccer stars and influencers to mobilise young voters through social media and canvassing.

At least 18 killed in heavy Russian attack on Ukrainian cities

Russia pounded Ukraine ‌with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles early on Tuesday in attacks that authorities said killed 18 people and wounded more than 100. The attacks on cities including Kyiv and Dnipro followed Russian warnings of "systematic" strikes on the capital after a deadly drone attack on a dormitory in Ukraine's Russian-held region of Luhansk last month. Kyiv denies targeting the dormitory.

Sweden's Skau named acting head of UN World Food Programme

Swedish diplomat Carl Skau has assumed the role of acting executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations' food aid agency said on Tuesday. Skau succeeds Cindy McCain, who announced her resignation in February for health reasons, and will lead the organization on an interim basis until a new executive director is appointed.

'Some kind of apocalypse': A Kyiv resident recalls terror of Russian attack

When a large explosion shook Olha Mudra's apartment block in Kyiv in the early hours of Tuesday, it felt like the end of the world. Mudra, her hair covered in dust and face smeared with soot, recalled the moment when the blast occurred, in the third mass attack on the Ukrainian capital in as many weeks.

Congo re-opens airport at centre of Ebola outbreak

Democratic Republic of Congo has re-opened the airport in the capital city of the province hit hardest by the ongoing Ebola outbreak, a government statement said, reversing a move that some residents said had cut them off from critical supplies. The government in Kinshasa announced last month that it ⁠was suspending passenger flights to ​Bunia, the main airport in Ituri, where the first Ebola cases were confirmed. Humanitarian and medical flights continued subject to approvals.

Denmark's Frederiksen secures third term as ⁠prime minister

Denmark's Social Democratic leader Mette Frederiksen said on Monday she has agreed to form a centre-left coalition government, maintaining her grip on power amid a crisis in ties with U.S. President Donald Trump over the future of Greenland. The deal to form a minority cabinet gives Frederiksen a third consecutive term as prime minister, ending months of uncertainty after a March election in which 12 parties won seats in the Danish parliament.

Trump's 'weaponization' fund put on hold after fierce opposition from Congress

President Donald Trump's nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate victims of alleged government “weaponization" has been put on hold after the White House faced fierce opposition from Republicans in Congress, three sources familiar with the plan said on Monday. The rare rebuke ⁠of Trump demonstrated some Republicans' increased willingness to flex their political power against the president, particularly after his endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Senator John Cornyn ahead of a crucial midterm election.

Israel strikes south Lebanon after holding off Beirut attack

Israel kept up strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday, pressing its campaign against Hezbollah a day after U.S. President Donald Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to attack Beirut, averting further escalation in the three-month-old war. Following Trump's intervention, Lebanon's government said Israel would refrain from carrying out threatened strikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, while the group would halt attacks against Israel.

Iran war disruption threatening ​delivery of lifesaving supplies for children, UN says

Surging global transport costs and supply chain disruptions linked to the Middle East crisis are threatening the delivery of lifesaving aid to children, the U.N. children's agency warned on Tuesday. Nearly 100 days after the outbreak of the Iran war, heightened insecurity around key Gulf shipping routes has driven up fuel prices and insurance premiums, while congestion at alternative ports has compounded disruptions, hampering aid deliveries.

Russia says its overnight Ukraine strike was a response to Kyiv's 'terrorist acts'

The Russian Defence Ministry said ⁠on Tuesday that its massive overnight strike on Ukraine was a response to what it called "terrorist acts" against targets inside Russia and said it had struck a range of Ukrainian military targets. Ukrainian authorities said that Russian drones and missiles had pounded the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other cities early on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people and wounding more than 100 following days of warnings about Moscow's plans for a major assault.

Venezuela's Rodriguez to discuss energy ties during India visit from June 3-7

Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez will visit India from June 3 to June 7, India's foreign ministry said on Tuesday, at a time when New Delhi is ramping up its crude imports from Caracas. India was the second-largest importer of Venezuelan oil in May with ⁠purchases of ​427,000 barrels per day, second only to the U.S., Reuters reported. India's Reliance Industries has emerged as one of the three largest buyers of Venezuelan crude in recent months.

UK police under pressure after dying student was handcuffed

British police faced a backlash on Tuesday over the case of an 18-year-old student who was handcuffed as he lay dying from stab wounds after his killer falsely alleged a racist attack. Henry Nowak died after the knife attack in the southern England city of Southampton in December last year. His murderer Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old Sikh man, was sentenced to life in prison on Monday, having lied to police at the time that Nowak had assaulted him.

Uganda health ministry confirms six new cases of Ebola

Uganda has confirmed six more new cases of Ebola, bringing the total confirmed in the country so far to 15, the health ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry said in a statement on its X account that the six were confirmed among contacts of other confirmed cases. It said to date there were two discharges from hospital, with 12 people admitted and one death.

Netanyahu faces criticism after Trump halts Israeli strikes on Beirut

Benjamin ⁠Netanyahu is under criticism at home after U.S. President Donald Trump declared Israel would halt plans to attack Iran ally Hezbollah in Beirut, highlighting pressure the Israeli leader faces ahead of an election polls show him losing.

Trump said on Monday that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to halt attacks on one another, hours after Netanyahu ordered new strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, prompting a warning from Iran that Israel was jeopardizing Tehran's talks with the U.S.

Air traffic control strikes in Belgium halt air traffic, airport says

Air traffic in Belgium will be ⁠halted on Tuesday from 1200 to 1900 GMT due to an unannounced strike among air traffic controllers, Brussels airport said. "The airlines will have to cancel all scheduled flights," ⁠the airport said.

Protests over US Ebola site in Kenya kill two, court keeps block

A Kenyan court blocked on Tuesday for another three weeks a proposed U.S. Ebola quarantine facility that has triggered protests killing two people and ordered the government to disclose its agreement with Washington. The proposed 50-bed unit on an air force base in central Kenya for Americans exposed to the virus in Democratic Republic of Congo or Uganda has angered many Kenyans. They accuse the U.S. of offloading the health risk of caring for patients.

Poland to ban phones in schools, restrict access to pornography

Poland wants to ban under-16s from using mobile phones in schools from September 1 and plans to introduce stricter age verification rules to access pornography, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday. Countries including the Netherlands, South Korea and Italy have banned smartphones in schools due to concerns over their ‌impact on concentration and behaviour. Others have banned - or are considering banning - children's access to social media.

UN urges ‌the world to ready for extreme heat risk from El Nino

The United Nations weather agency forecast on Tuesday a moderate or possibly a strong El Nino that could drive up global temperatures and increase the risk of extreme weather over the coming months. El Nino is a periodic warming of ​sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, which typically lasts between nine and 12 months, according to the World Meteorological Organization.