Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Analysis-Long-range strikes against Russia: too late to save Ukraine?
The U.S. decision to authorize long-range Ukrainian strikes could help Kyiv defend the foothold in Russia's Kursk region that it seized as leverage in any war talks, but may come too late to change the course of the war, analysts said. Two months before leaving office, President Joe Biden lifted some restrictions that have blocked Kyiv from using U.S.-supplied weapons for strikes deeper into Russian territory, in a major policy change, Reuters reported on Sunday.
Sri Lanka president keeps finance minister role, reappoints Amarasuriya as prime minister
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake retained the key finance minister portfolio and reappointed Harini Amarasuriya as prime minister on Monday as the Indian Ocean island nation targets stronger recovery from a draining financial crisis. Dissanayake, whose leftist coalition won a record 159 seats in the 225-member parliament in a general election last week, also reappointed veteran legislator Vijitha Herath to helm the foreign affairs ministry.
Russian missile attack on Ukraine's Odesa kills eight, injures 39, governor says
A Russian missile attack killed eight people and wounded 39 in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa on Monday, local governor Oleh Kiper said. Four children were among the wounded while three people are in serious condition, Kiper said on the Telegram messenger.
Biden allows Ukraine to use US arms to strike inside Russia
President Joe Biden's administration has allowed Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to strike deep into Russia, two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision said on Sunday, in a significant reversal of Washington's policy in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns.
Palestinian NGO to ask UK court to block F-35 parts to Israel over Gaza war
Britain is allowing parts for F-35 fighter jets to be exported to Israel despite accepting they could be used in breach of international humanitarian law in Gaza, lawyers for a Palestinian rights group told a London court on Monday. West Bank-based Al-Haq, which documents alleged rights violations by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, is taking legal action against Britain's Department for Business and Trade at London's High Court.
G20 summit confronts a global order unsettled by Trump's return
Leaders of the Group of 20 major economies were set to meet on Monday in Brazil for their annual summit, bracing for a shift in the global order with the return to power of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump. Discussions of trade, climate change and international security will run up against sharp U.S. policy changes that Trump vows upon taking office in January, from tariffs to the promise of a negotiated solution to the war in Ukraine.
Analysis-How 1,000 days of conflict fueled robot wars between Russia and Ukraine
When Yuriy Shelmuk co-founded a company last year making drone signal jammers, he said there was little interest in the devices. It now produces 2,500 a month and has a six-week waiting list. Demand shifted after the failure of a major Ukrainian counteroffensive in the summer of 2023 that was meant to put invading Russian forces on the back foot. Kyiv cited Russia's extensive use of unmanned aerial vehicles to spot and strike targets, as well as vast numbers of landmines and troops.
Israeli strikes kill 20 Palestinians in Gaza, some in attacks on tents, say medics
Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip killed 20 Palestinians on Monday, including six people who were killed in attacks on tents housing displaced families, medics said. Four people, two of them children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment in the coastal area of Al-Mawasi, designated as a humanitarian zone, while two were killed in temporary shelters in the southern city of Rafah and another in drone fire, health officials said.
Vanuatu president dissolves Pacific nation's parliament
The president of Vanuatu, Nikenike Vurobaravu, signed an order to dissolve the Pacific island nation's parliament on Monday, Vanuatu broadcaster VBTC reported. Vurobaravu and Vanuatu's Prime Minister Charlot Salwai had been expected to face separate votes of no confidence in the parliament, after motions were lodged by the political opposition.
Sudanese who escaped from war-torn Tuti island speak of hunger, disease
Muhammad Awad and his family are among dozens who escaped Sudan's Tuti island earlier this year amid a siege by the Rapid Support Forces, finding refuge at a shelter after surviving for months on scant food and the risk of disease. The island in the middle of the Nile serves as a microcosm for the devastation unleashed by a war that began in April 2023.
