Reuters World News Summary

Details about Black started to emerge on Tuesday of risk-taking behavior that saw the 34-year-old Army staff sergeant's luck run out after he followed his girlfriend to Russia while he was on personal leave from military service. North Macedonia votes in elections crucial for EU accession North Macedonia will head to the polls on Wednesday in parliamentary and presidential elections in which the rightist opposition is expected to gain ground against a ruling party that has failed to progress talks to join the EU and stamp out corruption.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

US soldier bucked Army rules before arrest in Russia

Before his arrest in Russia, U.S. soldier Gordon Black not only broke Army rules by traveling to the Russian city of Vladivostok without authorization, but he did so after passing through China, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. Details about Black started to emerge on Tuesday of risk-taking behavior that saw the 34-year-old Army staff sergeant's luck run out after he followed his girlfriend to Russia while he was on personal leave from military service.

North Macedonia votes in elections crucial for EU accession

North Macedonia will head to the polls on Wednesday in parliamentary and presidential elections in which the rightist opposition is expected to gain ground against a ruling party that has failed to progress talks to join the EU and stamp out corruption. No polls have been published ahead of the vote, but a stronger-than-expected showing from the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party in the first round of presidential elections last month suggest that voters are frustrated with the ruling Social Democrats.

US believes Hamas, Israel can break Gaza ceasefire impasse; Israeli forces cut Rafah aid route

The U.S. said negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire should be able to close the gaps between Israel and Hamas while Israeli forces seized the main border crossing in Rafah on Tuesday, closing a vital route for aid. Hamas official Osama Hamdan, speaking to reporters in Beirut, warned that if Israel's military aggression continued in Rafah, there would be no truce agreement.

Brazil floods leave 150,000 homeless, scores dead or missing

Rescuers rushed to evacuate people stranded by devastating floods across the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul on Tuesday, with at least 90 dead, thousands left homeless, and desperate survivors seeking food and basic supplies. On the outskirts of Eldorado do Sul, 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) from the state capital of Porto Alegre, many people were sleeping on the roadside and told Reuters they were going hungry. Entire families were leaving on foot, carrying belongings in backpacks and shopping carts.

Ukraine hits oil depot in Russian-held city, local leader says

Ukrainian forces attacked an oil storage depot and sparked a large fire, injuring five people late on Tuesday on the outskirts of the Russian-held city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, the region's Russia-installed leader said. "Late at night, the enemy made a strike on the peaceful city of Luhansk, shelling an oil storage depot on the edge of the city," Leonid Pasechnik, head of the Luhansk People's Republic, wrote on Telegram.

Stormy Daniels testifies she had sex with Trump, defense attacks her credibility

Porn star Stormy Daniels described her 2006 encounter with Donald Trump in unflattering terms at his criminal trial on Tuesday, testifying she tried not to think about the sex while it took place and feared it would become public. For several hours Daniels, 45, offered riveting details on the witness stand about her encounter with Trump, 77, and the hush money deal she reached to stay quiet about it ahead of the 2016 election when he won the White House.

Trump documents trial start delayed indefinitely, judge orders

Donald Trump's trial in Florida on charges of illegally keeping classified documents after leaving office has been indefinitely postponed, a judge decided on Tuesday, greatly reducing the odds he will face a jury in either of the two federal criminal cases against him before the Nov. 5 U.S. election. Trump, seeking to regain the presidency, previously had been scheduled to go to trial on May 20 in the documents case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith, but the prosecution and defense had both acknowledged that date would need to be delayed.

Three men accused in Canadian Sikh leader's death appear in court

The three men accused of murdering Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year in a killing that triggered a diplomatic crisis between Canada and India appeared briefly in a British Columbia courtroom on Tuesday. Karanpreet Singh, 28, Kamalpreet Singh, 22 and Karan Brar, 22, all Indian nationals, face charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

China's Xi Jinping visits Serbia on anniversary of 1999 NATO bombing

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Serbia on Tuesday evening escorted by MIG-29 jets in a tightly secured visit coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the NATO bombing of China's embassy in which three Chinese journalists were killed. Belgrade, after France, is the second stop on Xi's first visit to Europe in five years, which also includes Hungary. In Serbia, which is seen as China's most important partner in the Balkans, Xi is expected to discuss China´s multi-billion investment in the country and possible new deals.

With lamb and cheese, Macron tried to charm China's Xi in the Pyrenees

Chinese President Xi Jinping left France on Tuesday after a two-day trip during which he offered no major concessions on trade or foreign policy, even as President Emmanuel Macron pressed him on market access and Ukraine. Macron and his wife Brigitte waved goodbye to Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan at the airport in France's southwestern Pyrenees region, after taking them to lunch in the mountains following a day of talks and state pomp in Paris on Monday.

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