Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Israeli military strikes kill scores in Gaza, as Trump visits the region
Israeli military strikes killed at least 60 people in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Palestinian medics said, as the United States and Arab mediators pushed for a ceasefire deal and U.S. President Donald Trump visited the Middle East. Most of the victims, including women and children, were killed in Khan Younis in southern Gaza in airstrikes that hit homes and tents, they said.
How Trump's man in Beijing swung from trade globalist to China hawk
The new U.S. envoy to China, Ambassador David Perdue is a former champion of global trade turned China hawk who will emphasize his close ties to President Donald Trump as he seeks to restore crucial lines of communication between Washington and Beijing. Perdue, a one-time Republican Senator for Georgia, arrived in Beijing Thursday, according to a post on his X account. He replaces career diplomat Nicholas Burns, a pick of former President Joe Biden, who left in January.
Trump hails Qatari pledge to invest $10 billion in US airbase, heads to UAE
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday Qatar will invest $10 billion in coming years in the Al Udeid Air Base southwest of its capital Doha, the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East. In a speech to U.S. troops at the base during his tour of the Gulf, Trump also said defense purchases signed by Qatar on Wednesday are worth $42 billion.
APEC warns of stalling trade due to tariffs as China, US officials meet
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping warned on Thursday that exports from a region that accounts for around half of world trade will slow sharply this year, and barely grow at all, in the wake of U.S. tariff announcements. The 21-member bloc convened an annual session of trade representatives ahead of a leaders' summit this year, with top U.S. and Chinese trade envoys meeting on the sidelines following high-stakes talks earlier this month in Geneva that sought to de-escalate a bitter trade war.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ex-girlfriend to face cross-examination at hip-hop mogul's criminal trial
Sean "Diddy" Combs' former girlfriend Casandra Ventura will likely face a grueling cross-examination starting on Thursday at the hip-hop mogul's criminal trial, after she accused him of rape and more than a decade of violent abuse. Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer known as Cassie, is the star government witness against Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Putin's no-show in Turkey throws Ukraine talks into disarray
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a second-tier team of negotiators to hold peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey on Thursday, spurning Kyiv's challenge to go there in person to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Putin's no-show plunged prospects for the talks - which would be the first since the early weeks of the war - into confusion. Russia said they would take place in Istanbul in the second half of the day, but Turkey said no meeting was scheduled yet.
Trump says US close to a nuclear deal with Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had "sort of" agreed to the terms. "We're in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace," Trump said on a tour of the Gulf, according to a shared pool report by AFP.
Analysis-Trump's Qatari 747 may need fighter escorts to serve as Air Force One
A Boeing 747 jet offered to President Donald Trump by Qatar as a temporary flying White House might need fighter jet escorts and could be restricted to flying inside the U.S. unless significant costly security upgrades were made, aviation experts and industry sources said. Even if numerous improvements to the plane's communications and defenses are made over the coming months once any deal is completed, the military escort and domestic restriction could remain in place, the experts and sources said.
Analysis-As Putin explores peace options, Russian nationalists call for Moscow to fight on in Ukraine
As Russian President Vladimir Putin explores a potential peace settlement to end the war in Ukraine, hawkish anti-Western nationalists at home are waging a campaign to keep the conflict going. "We surrender our weapons, we surrender our country!," Pavel Gubarev, a pro-Moscow activist in part of Ukraine´s eastern Donetsk region controlled by Moscow, posted on Sunday, raging against the prospect of the conflict being "frozen" along current lines.
Former Mauritanian president jailed for 15 years following appeal
Mauritania's former president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, was on Wednesday sentenced to 15 years in prison on corruption charges following an appeal to a Nouakchott court by both the state and Aziz's defense against a sentence imposed in 2023. Abdel Aziz led the West African country for a decade after coming to power in a 2008 coup, followed by an election a year later. He was an ally of Western powers fighting Islamist militants in the Sahel region.
