Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Exclusive-Doomed Japan plane on third quake mission when runway disaster hit

A Coast Guard plane was making its third emergency trip to an earthquake zone within 24 hours when it collided with a passenger jet at a very busy Haneda airport, a Coast Guard official told Reuters. The official declined to be named due to an ongoing investigation into the runway crash between the De Havilland Dash-8 turboprop and a Japan Airlines Airbus A350 passenger jet. Five of the six Coast Guard crew died but all 379 people on the JAL plane escaped.

'Blade Runner' Pistorius set to be released 11 years after murdering girlfriend

South African former Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius is set to be released on parole on Friday, nearly 11 years after murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in a crime that shocked a nation long inured to violence against women. Pistorius - dubbed "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs - shot the 29-year-old model dead through a locked bathroom door on Valentine's Day in 2013.

White House: North Korea provided Russia with ballistic missiles, launchers

North Korea recently provided Russia with ballistic missiles and launchers for use in Moscow's war against Ukraine, some of which Russia has fired into Ukraine, the White House said on Thursday, citing newly declassified intelligence. National security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters the United States will raise the development with the United Nations Security Council.

Explainer-Ukraine considers changing mobilisation rules as war with Russia drags on

A Ukrainian parliamentary committee met on Thursday to review proposed changes to the rules on army mobilisation that would enable Kyiv to call up more people and tighten sanctions against draft evasion as the war with Russia drags on. The proposals have faced criticism from the public and some politicians. Parliament's human rights commissioner says some of the proposals are unconstitutional.

Guatemalan ex-President Perez enters house arrest after 8 years in prison

Former Guatemalan President Otto Perez entered house arrest after being imprisoned since 2015 on a corruption conviction, his lawyer said on Thursday. Perez, a retired general, governed the Central American nation from 2012 until 2015, when he was forced to resign with just four months left in his term amid protests over graft scandals.

Exclusive-Russian hackers were inside Ukraine telecoms giant for months - cyber spy chief

Russian hackers were inside Ukrainian telecoms giant Kyivstar's system from at least May last year in a cyberattack that should serve as a "big warning" to the West, Ukraine's cyber spy chief told Reuters. The hack, one of the most dramatic since Russia's full-scale invasion nearly two years ago, knocked out services provided by Ukraine's biggest telecoms operator for some 24 million users for days from Dec. 12.

Israeli defence minister outlines new phase in Gaza war

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday outlined a new stage of Israel's war in Gaza: a more targeted approach in the north and further pursuit of Hamas leaders in the south while Israel seeks to free remaining hostages held by Hamas. Under international pressure to shift to less intense combat operations and in the face of economic challenges, Israel has been drawing down its forces in Gaza to allow thousands of reservists to return to their jobs.

Armed men kidnapped 32 migrants in Mexico for extortion, president says

The armed men who kidnapped 32 migrants in northern Mexico over the weekend aimed to extort money from them and their families in the United States, Mexico's president said on Thursday, one day after the migrants were released from captivity. He said that the migrants, who were found on Wednesday, were abandoned by their kidnappers in a parking lot in a commercial center in the northern Mexican city of Reynosa in the state of Tamaulipas.

University of Penn professors in Israel speak out on US campus antisemitism

Until three months ago, University of Pennsylvania psychology professor Michael Kahana said he had never felt the need to wear a yarmulke, or Jewish skullcap, to his classes. "It started Oct. 7. I now feel that if I don't wear a yarmulke then my students might not feel that they can," said Kahana, one of the organisers of some 30 Penn faculty on a solidarity mission to Israel this week.

Islamic State claims responsibility for deadly Iran attack, Tehran vows revenge

Islamic State claimed responsibility on Thursday for two explosions in Iran that killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores at a memorial for top commander Qassem Soleimani. In a statement posted on its affiliate Telegram channels, the militant Sunni Muslim group said two IS members had detonated explosive belts in the crowd that had gathered at the cemetery in the southeastern Iranian city of Kerman on Wednesday.

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