Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Russia pounds Ukraine's energy sector, Kyiv urges more air defense assistance
Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones on Saturday that damaged energy facilities and critical infrastructure across Ukraine, injuring at least four people, and prompting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to issue a fresh plea for more air defense assistance. The sixth major Russian air attack on the Ukrainian power sector since March damaged energy facilities in the east, center, and west, the national grid operator Ukrenergo said.
Biden's big weakness vs Trump: Voters without college degrees, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
President Joe Biden is hemorrhaging support among voters without college degrees - a large group that includes Black people, Hispanic women, young voters and suburban women - producing a far tighter rematch against his Republican predecessor Donald Trump than seen in 2020, Reuters/Ipsos polling reveals. Biden's support among voters without a four-year degree is down 10 percentage points, compared to this point in the 2020 campaign, the analysis of around 24,000 registered voter responses to Reuters/Ipsos polls in 2020 and 2024 shows.
US shifts focus to China risks; Zelenskiy arrives at Asia defense meeting
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin tried to refocus attention on China's threat in the Asia-Pacific on Saturday, seeking to alleviate concerns that conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have distracted from America's security commitments in the region. Just hours after Austin spoke at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy arrived in Singapore, where he will address delegates at the security forum on Sunday.
Seoul's LGBT community gathers for annual festival despite protest
The annual Seoul Queer Culture Festival was held in the South Korean capital on Saturday despite previous issues in securing a venue and protests against the LGBT community's pride celebrations. "Our message to South Korean society at large this year is to affirm LGBTQ people," said festival chief organizer Yang Sun-woo.
India votes in last phase of massive, 6-week elections
Indians voted in searing summer heat on Saturday in the final phase of the world's biggest election, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a rare third term in a poll focussed on inequality and religion. More than 100 million people are registered to vote for 57 seats across eight states and federal territories in the seventh phase of the election, including in Modi's constituency in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi.
Boeing's Starliner capsule set for launch of first crewed space flight
Boeing's new Starliner astronaut capsule is poised for launch on Saturday in a much-delayed first crewed test flight, a milestone in the beleaguered aerospace giant's aim to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX in the astronaut launch business. The CST-100 Starliner with two astronauts aboard is due for liftoff at 12:25 p.m. ET (1625 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, strapped to an Atlas V rocket from Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA).
Netanyahu says no Gaza ceasefire until Hamas destroyed
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday there could be no permanent ceasefire in Gaza until Hamas was destroyed, casting doubt on a key part of a truce proposal that U.S. President Joe Biden said Israel itself had made. Biden said on Friday that Israel had proposed a deal involving an initial six-week truce with a partial Israeli military withdrawal and the release of some hostages while the two sides negotiated "a permanent end to hostilities."
Trump says he will appeal historic conviction
Donald Trump said on Friday he would appeal the guilty verdict that made him the first U.S. president convicted of a crime, though he will have to wait until after his sentencing on July 11 before taking that step. In rambling remarks at the Trump Tower lobby in Manhattan where he announced his first presidential run in 2015, Trump repeated his complaints that the trial was a "rigged" attempt to hobble his comeback White House bid and warned that it showed no American was safe from politically motivated prosecution.
Hezbollah downs Israeli drone over Lebanon with missile
An Israeli pilotless plane was shot down over Lebanese territory by a surface-to-air missile on Saturday, Israel's military said, and Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the interception. In a statement, Hezbollah said it downed a Hermes 900 drone in solidarity with Gaza, where Israel has been waging an almost eight-month-old war against Hamas, another Iranian-backed group.
South Africa election set to end three decades of ANC dominance
South Africa was set to end three decades of dominance by the party that freed it from apartheid on Saturday, as voters angry at joblessness, inequality and power shortages slashed the African National Congress's (ANC) share of the vote to 40%. A dramatically weakened mandate for the legacy party of Nelson Mandela, down from the 57.5% it got in the previous 2019 parliamentary election, means the ANC must share power with a rival in order to keep it - an unprecedented prospect.
