Reuters World News Summary

This week Mexican news outlet Latinus published a report alleging that Andres Lopez Beltran, a son of the president, had helped friends snare public contracts worth over 100 million pesos ($5.6 million). Drones attack Ukrainian capital, Moscow says US behind Kremlin drone Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday evening, the fourth assault in as many days subjecting residents to spasms of gunfire and explosions, and at least one drone was shot down.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Heavy fighting in Khartoum; Sudan's children caught in conflict, UN says

Fierce fighting persisted in Sudan on Thursday despite a truce agreement as U.S. intelligence said rival forces were trying to gain the upper hand ahead of possible negotiations and the U.N. warned of the violence's devastating toll on children.

Despite multiple ceasefire declarations, the two sides appeared to be battling for control of territory in the capital Khartoum ahead of proposed talks, though the leaders of both factions have shown little public willingness to negotiate after more than two weeks of fighting.

Serbia struggles to comprehend first school shooting

Shocked Serbians mourned the nine victims of their nation's first mass school shooting on Thursday while teachers demanded better security and two wounded pupils fought for their lives. The suspected shooter, a 13-year-old boy, surrendered on Wednesday, police said, after taking two of his father's handguns to kill eight pupils and a security guard in a hallway and history class at their school in the capital Belgrade.

Blinken says Armenia and Azerbaijan make 'tangible progress' in peace talks

Azerbaijan and Armenia have made "tangible progress" towards a peace agreement in negotiations this week in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday. Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over 30 years focusing on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated mainly by Armenians.

U.S. issues guidelines on defending Philippines from South China Sea attack

The United States has laid out in clear terms the extent of its defence treaty commitments to the Philippines, issuing new guidelines that refer specifically to attacks in the South China Sea, including on its coast guard. The six-page "bilateral defence guidelines" agreed in Washington on Wednesday follow a renewed push under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to update the Mutual Defense Treaty with the former colonial ruler, at a time of increased tension and maritime confrontation with China.

Mexico president defends son after report alleging corruption

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday defended one of his sons against corruption allegations, rejecting a media report that his son had used his position to help friends win millions of dollars worth of contracts. This week Mexican news outlet Latinus published a report alleging that Andres Lopez Beltran, a son of the president, had helped friends snare public contracts worth over 100 million pesos ($5.6 million).

Drones attack Ukrainian capital, Moscow says US behind Kremlin drone

Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday evening, the fourth assault in as many days subjecting residents to spasms of gunfire and explosions, and at least one drone was shot down. City authorities had declared an alert for Kyiv and the surrounding area. Residents who had gone to air raid shelters said the drones arrived more quickly than usual after the alerts were declared. Reuters witnesses heard gunfire and repeated heavier explosions near the city centre.

Exclusive: Israel seized Binance crypto accounts to 'thwart' Islamic State, document shows

Israel has seized around 190 crypto accounts at crypto exchange Binance since 2021, including two it said were linked to Islamic State and dozens of others it said were owned by Palestinian firms connected to the Islamist Hamas group, documents released by the country's counter-terror authorities show. Israel's National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) on Jan. 12 confiscated two Binance accounts and their contents, one of the documents on the NBCTF's website showed. The seizure was to "thwart the activity" of Islamic State and "impair its ability to further its goals," the NBCTF said on its website.

Nicaragua arrests 40 opposition figures in new round-up of critics

Forty political opponents of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega have been arrested and charged with crimes including conspiracy and treason in a new round-up of government critics, relatives of five of the detainees said on Thursday. The opposition figures were detained on Wednesday night, taken to the capital Managua to be charged, then transferred back home to be placed under house arrest, the relatives told Reuters.

Sons of Mexican drug lord 'El Chapo' deny trafficking fentanyl in rare letter

Sons of former Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman denied U.S. allegations that they were major traffickers flooding the United States with synthetic opioid fentanyl, addressing the claims against them in a rare letter. The U.S. Justice Department last month charged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel with trafficking fentanyl and other drugs, including four sons of El Chapo, the cartel's one time leader who is now imprisoned in the U.S.

Analysis-Kremlin drone incident gives Putin cover to deepen Ukraine war

The humiliating spectacle for Russia of two drones flying over the walls of the Kremlin, its historic seat of power, has spawned conflicting theories about who did it and why - but for Vladimir Putin the incident could yet prove useful politically. Although the drones were destroyed before causing serious damage, the incident highlighted the apparent vulnerability of central Moscow to enemy drones, and prompted angry commentators to query the efficacy of Russia's air defences.

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