Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Exclusive-UN official accuses Eritrean forces of deliberately starving Tigray
The northern highlands of Ethiopia became a global byword for famine in the mid-1980s, when drought and conflict combined to create a disaster that killed as many as one million people. Now hunger is stalking the Tigray region again, and a senior UN official alleges that starvation is being used as a weapon of war. More than 350,000 of Tigray's nearly 6 million people are living in famine conditions, according to an analysis by United Nations agencies and global aid groups first reported by Reuters on Thursday. Nearly 2 million others are one step away from such dire deprivation, they said. Ethiopia has disputed these estimates.
Eying Russia, Pentagon to send Ukraine counter-drone, electronic warfare equipment
The Pentagon announced on Friday a new package of $150 million in military assistance for Ukraine that will include counter-artillery radar, electronic warfare equipment and counter-drone technology, bolstering Kyiv amid elevated tensions with Moscow. Although the funds were already committed by Congress, the Defense Department's announcement details specifically how the U.S. military will allocate assistance earmarked for Ukraine before the end of the U.S. government's fiscal year in September.
New Israeli government seals coalition deals as Netanyahu era approaches its end
The new Israeli government set to end Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year tenure as prime minister signed its final coalition agreements on Friday, pointedly including term limits.
The coalition of parties from far-right to left is expected to focus mostly on economic and social issues rather than risk exposing internal rifts by trying to address major diplomatic issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Putin says relations with U.S. at lowest point in years
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with NBC News ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden next week, said U.S.-Russia relations are at their lowest point in recent years. "We have a bilateral relationship that has deteriorated to its lowest point in recent years," Putin said, according to an NBC translation of the interview broadcast on Friday.
N.Korea's Kim calls for boosting military power -KCNA
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un chaired a Central Military Commission meeting, state media KCNA said on Saturday, where he called for boosting military power, but KCNA did not have details of any military activities planned. The meeting on Friday called for a "high-alert posture" against the "recent fast-changing" situation on the Korean Peninsula, said KCNA, adding that it also addressed organizational issue of dismissing, transferring and newly appointing some military officers.
Spanish rescuers search sea for missing toddler after girl found dead
Thousands staged angry demonstrations in cities across Spain on Friday as Spanish rescuers searched waters off the coast of Tenerife for a 1-year-old girl after a body which was reportedly confirmed to be her 6-year-old sister was found weighted down in the ocean with an anchor, prompting an outpouring of rage and grief. Their father, Tomas G., is the main suspect in the disappearance of Olivia, 6, and Anna, 1, after failing to return them to their mother as agreed at the end of April. He is also missing.
Oxford vaccine inventors recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours
The Oxford University scientists who invented the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are among those to be honoured by Queen Elizabeth, among a number of recipients who played key roles in Britain's coronavirus response, the government said on Friday. Sarah Gilbert, the Oxford Jenner Institute scientist who co-developed the vaccine, will be made a Dame, while her colleague, the institute's director, Adrian Hill, is to receive an honorary Knighthood.
U.S. says diplomatic presence in Kabul requires 'functioning, secure airport'
The United States believes keeping an international diplomatic presence in Kabul requires a "functioning, secure" airport, a State Department spokesperson said on Friday, suggesting that embassies could be forced to close without one.
The statement came a day after a Taliban spokesman effectively rejected Turkey's proposal that its troops remain to guard and run the Hamid Karzai International Airport after the departure of the rest of the U.S.-led foreign force.
Peru's Castillo on verge of being named President after last-minute vote wrangling
Peru's presidential election front-runner Pedro Castillo was poised for victory on Friday night, despite legal wrangles over the ultra-close vote count that had ignited tensions in the Andean nation. "We call on the Peruvian people to stay alert," Castillo told supporters in the middle of last-minute legal disputes over the tight vote count.
Germany's Merkel to visit Biden at White House on July 15
U.S. President Joe Biden will host German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington on July 15 in what will likely be her farewell visit to the United States after almost 16 years at the helm of Europe's largest economy. The announcement was made on Friday on the first day of the Group of Seven summit in England. Biden has hosted two other world leaders since taking office, Japan and South Korea.
