Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Zelenskiy: Ukraine, West can make Russia's defeat 'irreversible' this year
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Kyiv and its Western supporters could make Russia's defeat in the war in Ukraine "irreversible" this year, as he thanked Germany for its military support. The Ukrainian leader told a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin that Kyiv would always be grateful to Germany for its support during Russia's full-scale invasion.
In Turkish election, some voters return to quake zone to cast ballots
Mehmet Ali Fakioglu was made homeless by an earthquake that hit Turkey in February, but made a 15-hour journey back to the disaster zone to vote on Sunday, recalling the fear he felt when the catastrophe struck and his anger that help was slow to come. Fakioglu, who has been staying with his son in Istanbul since leaving his home in the Antakya region, remembers the earthquake every day - the moment he ran from his apartment with his wife and daughter as walls banged and cracked.
Pakistan's external financing requirements for IMF deal unchanged - IMF
Pakistan's external financing requirements have not been changed in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over bailout funds, the IMF Resident Representative in Pakistan said, denying local media reports that the Fund was seeking fresh financing. "There is no truth to reports that the IMF is asking Pakistan to raise $8 billion in fresh financing," Esther Pérez Ruiz said in a text message sent to Reuters on Sunday.
Russia says Ukraine made 'mass attempts' to break through Bakhmut defenses
Russia's Defence Ministry said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces made "mass attempts" to break through its defenses in the eastern city of Bakhmut over the past 24 hours, as pressure on its troops continued to mount. It said in a briefing that Ukraine had waged attacks in the north and south of the city, but that they had not broken through Russian defenses. "All attacks by units of Ukraine's armed forces have been repelled," it said.
Analysis-India's opposition Congress gains key foothold with state election win
India's embattled Congress party won big in a southern state election this weekend, exceeding expectations and gaining fresh momentum to take on entrenched Prime Minister Narendra Modi in national elections next year, top politicians and analysts said. At the same time, they cautioned that Congress' victory on Saturday in Karnataka state, home to the booming tech hub of Bengaluru, was largely due to local factors.
Turkey votes in crucial elections, with Erdogan rule in balance
Turks voted in a pivotal election on Sunday, poised either to unseat President Tayyip Erdogan and halt his government's increasingly authoritarian path or usher in a third decade of his rule. The vote will decide not only who leads Turkey, a NATO-member country of 85 million, but also how it is governed, where its economy is headed amid a deep cost of living crisis, and the shape of its foreign policy.
Palestinians and Israelis resume normal life after Gaza truce
Life on both sides of the Gaza Strip border began returning to normal on Sunday after an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire halted five days of fighting between Israel and Islamic Jihad, which killed 34 Palestinians and an Israeli. Israel reopened its goods and commercial border crossings, allowing fuel to flow to the lone power plant in the blockaded coastal enclave. Shops and public offices reopened and crowds returned to streets that had been deserted for days.
Record turnout projected as Thais vote in battle of old rivals
Thais were forecast to have voted in record numbers on Sunday in an election expected to deliver big gains for opposition forces, an outcome that would test the resolve of a pro-military establishment central to two decades of intermittent turmoil. Voting closed at 5 p.m. local time (1000 GMT), with the Election Commission earlier projecting a turnout of 80% among the 52 million eligible voters.
Zelenskiy in Berlin: we can make Russia's defeat 'irreversible'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday Kyiv and its Western supporters could make a Russian defeat in the war in Ukraine "irreversible" as early as this year and thanked Germany for being a "true friend" during a visit to Berlin. Zelenskiy secured a large military boost on his visit, with the German government announcing a 2.7 billion euro ($3 billion) of military aid to Ukraine on Saturday, its biggest such package since Russia's invasion in February last year.
Cyclone Mocha floods Myanmar port city, sparing major refugee camps
Storm surges whipped up by a powerful cyclone moving inland from the Bay of Bengal inundated the Myanmar port city of Sittwe on Saturday, but largely spared a densely-populated cluster of refugee camps in low-lying neighboring Bangladesh. Some 400,000 people were evacuated in Myanmar and Bangladesh ahead of Cyclone Mocha making landfall, as authorities and aid agencies scrambled to avert heavy casualties from one of the strongest storms to hit the region in recent years.
