Reuters World News Summary

Those concerns proved well-founded this week when people were forced to hunker down in their homes as gunfire, shelling and airstrikes raged across the city in a fierce fight for power between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). US in 'extensive effort' with partners to counter China influence operations A day after authorities arrested two people on charges of links to a Chinese "secret police station" in New York, a U.S. official said the United States is engaged in an "extensive effort" with international partners to counter Chinese influence operations.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

North Korean leader orders spy satellite launch as planned -KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered officials to launch its first spy satellite as planned, saying that boosting the country's reconnaissance capabilities is a key priority to counter "threats" from the U.S. and South Korea, state media reported on Wednesday. North Korea in December conducted what it called an "important, final phase" test for the development of a spy satellite and said it would complete launching by April.

Mexican president accuses Pentagon of spying, vows to restrict military information

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday accused the Pentagon of spying on his government following leaks in U.S. media, and said he would begin classifying information from the armed forces to protect national security. His comments came several days after the Washington Post reported on apparent tensions between Mexico's Navy and the Army, citing a U.S. military briefing revealed in online leaks of secret U.S. military records.

Khartoum's fearful residents hunker down amid fierce street fighting

Residents in an affluent district of Khartoum feared there would be trouble when they found their new neighbour was a commander from a paramilitary force that protesters blamed for cracking down on them in the past. Those concerns proved well-founded this week when people were forced to hunker down in their homes as gunfire, shelling and airstrikes raged across the city in a fierce fight for power between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

US in 'extensive effort' with partners to counter China influence operations

A day after authorities arrested two people on charges of links to a Chinese "secret police station" in New York, a U.S. official said the United States is engaged in an "extensive effort" with international partners to counter Chinese influence operations. Federal prosecutors said the arrests on Monday were part of a crackdown on China's targeting of dissidents, which Beijing denies. Both men arrested are U.S. citizens.

Mexico nabs, swiftly deports MS-13 gang leader to El Salvador

Police in Mexico City arrested one of the most wanted leaders of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha gang accused of multiple crimes in the United States, officials said on Tuesday, in a fresh blow to one of Central America's most violent criminal groups. Jose Wilfredo Ayala, 55, was arrested after a tip from a neighbor, according to the Mexican capital's security ministry. The ministry said it had discovered Ayala - believed to be second-in-command of the gang commonly known as MS-13 - was using a false identity and hiding in Mexico City and in two areas a short drive north in Hidalgo state.

Heavy gunfire quickly shatters Sudan truce pushed by US

Heavy gunfire shattered a 24-hour truce in Sudan on Tuesday shortly after it was due to take effect under U.S. pressure on warring military factions to halt fighting that has touched off a humanitarian crisis. Loud shooting reverberated in the background of live feeds by Arab television news channels in the Khartoum capital region minutes after the agreed 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) onset of the ceasefire.

Brazil's Lula condemns invasion of Ukraine, touts peace initiative

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday condemned the violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity by Russia and again called for mediation to end the war, a peace initiative that was criticized by the Ukrainian government. Speaking at a lunch with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Lula said a group of neutral nations must come together to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Russian-installed Donetsk chief meets Belarus president, Kyiv protests

The Russian-installed head of the Moscow-controlled part of Ukraine's Donetsk region met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Tuesday and said he had discussed ways of boosting trade. The visit by Denis Pushilin prompted Ukraine to protest about what it called a "blatantly unfriendly act" by Belarus, a close ally of Russia that allowed Moscow's forces to use its territory as a launching pad for the February 2022 invasion.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy, top US House Republican McCarthy discussed Russia sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy discussed in a phone call Ukraine's need for weapons as well as increasing sanctions pressure on Russia. On Twitter, Zelenskiy said he thanked McCarthy for bipartisan support in Congress for Ukraine as well as Ukraine's defense needs. "Outlined the situation at the front & Ukraine's urgent defense needs in armored vehicles, artillery, air defense & aircraft," Zelenskiy's tweet said.

Russian hackers targeting Western critical infrastructure, UK says

The UK government's cyber defence agency warned on Wednesday of an emerging threat to Western critical national infrastructure posed by hackers sympathetic to Russia and its war on Ukraine. Russia-aligned "hacktivists" have carried out largely harmless online campaigns that have defaced prominent public websites or knocked them offline. However, some of those groups have been actively plotting ways to do more real-world damage, Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of the GCHQ eavesdropping intelligence agency, said in an alert.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)