World News Roundup: Austria ends its suspension of aid to Palestinians; Former UK PM Johnson denies he wanted to let COVID 'rip' and more

In a landmark visit of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to Greece, the long-time sparring partners agreed to focus on pursuing good neighbourly relations, keep open channels of communication, boost trade volumes and work on issues which have kept them apart, notably in the Aegean Sea. Egypt says it is pushing to accelerate aid delivery to Gaza Egypt is striving to accelerate the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip, a senior official said on Thursday, after the amount of relief getting through to the Palestinian enclave dipped with the end of the Israel-Hamas truce on Dec. 1.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Austria ends its suspension of aid to Palestinians

Austria said on Thursday it was ending a suspension of aid to Palestinians that it announced two days after Hamas militants' deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel, since a review had found no indication funds were being used to fund or promote terrorism. Soon after Austria's announcement on Oct. 9 that it was freezing aid pending the review, neighbouring Germany said it was also reviewing aid to the Palestinians. The European Union ordered its own review, and said last month there was no evidence of funds going to Hamas and assistance would continue.

Former UK PM Johnson denies he wanted to let COVID 'rip'

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Britain's COVID inquiry on Thursday that any suggestion he wanted to allow the virus to "let rip" was "rubbish" and "completely wrong". Johnson, prime minister between 2019 and 2022, faced a second day of questioning which examined the weeks before the second national lockdown in November 2020.

Palestinians seek slivers of safety as Israel battles Hamas in south Gaza city

Israel battled Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip's biggest cities on Thursday and said it had attacked dozens of targets, leaving Palestinians struggling to survive in a situation the United Nations described as "apocalyptic". Gazans crammed into Rafah on the border with Egypt, heeding Israeli leaflets and messages saying that they would be safe in the city. But medics and relatives said Israeli air strikes had killed 17 people in a house there on Wednesday sheltering some of those displaced from further north.

China's Xi warns top EU officials not to engage in 'confrontation'

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned top EU officials on Thursday that China and Europe should not view each other as rivals or "engage in confrontation" due to their different political systems, in the first in-person China-EU summit for four years. During a meeting to discuss issues ranging from trade imbalances to Ukraine, Xi also said China is willing to make the European Union a key economic and trade partner and to cooperate on science and technology, including artificial intelligence.

Sierra Leone ex-president Koroma summoned for questioning over failed coup

Sierra Leone police have summoned former president Ernest Bai Koroma for questioning as part of their investigation into a failed coup attempt on Nov. 26, information minister Chernor Bah said in a statement on Thursday. Koroma is invited to report to the headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department in Freetown within 24 hours, the statement said. Koroma said he would honour the invitation.

Russia and Saudi Arabia urge all OPEC+ powers to join oil cuts

Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world's two biggest oil exporters, on Thursday called for all OPEC+ members to join an agreement on output cuts for the good of the global economy just days after a fractious meeting of the producers' club. Hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin went to Riyadh in a hastily arranged visit to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Kremlin released a joint Russian-Saudi statement about the conclusion of their discussions.

Many wars, but nothing like this: Gaza man describes hunger and rage

People so hungry they break into U.N. warehouses to take whatever they can find. Children terrified of the noise of air strikes. Families using sea water to wash. Men cutting down trees in cemeteries to use as fuel to bake bread. And in the morning, on days when the phones work, calls to relatives and friends to check if they have survived another night in Gaza's two-month-old war between Israel and Hamas.

Meloni: Italy can improve trade with China after Belt and Road departure

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday that Italy can improve trade and economic ties with China even after Rome's decision to leave Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). "I think that we should... improve our cooperation with China on trade, the economy," Meloni told reporters in her first public comments on the issue since Italy informed China it was quitting the BRI.

Turning over a page, Greece and Turkey agree to mend ties

Greece and Turkey on Thursday agreed to reboot their relations, establishing a roadmap designed to usher in a new era of ties between the two NATO allies but historic foes. In a landmark visit of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to Greece, the long-time sparring partners agreed to focus on pursuing good neighbourly relations, keep open channels of communication, boost trade volumes and work on issues which have kept them apart, notably in the Aegean Sea.

Egypt says it is pushing to accelerate aid delivery to Gaza

Egypt is striving to accelerate the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip, a senior official said on Thursday, after the amount of relief getting through to the Palestinian enclave dipped with the end of the Israel-Hamas truce on Dec. 1. Diaa Rashwan, head of the State Information Service, said Egypt would never allow the emptying of the Gaza Strip of its residents as Israel's military campaign pushes them southwards towards the border with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.