Reuters World News Summary

Mali's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop made the request during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Friday, citing a "crisis of confidence" between Malian authorities and the decade-long U.N. mission known as MINUSMA. Blinken urges China's vigilance on its firms providing tech to Russia U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday he had asked China's government to be vigilant about private companies that may be providing Russia with technology that could be used against Ukraine, although he said he had seen no evidence Beijing is providing lethal assistance to Moscow.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Man with axe attacks Chinese restaurants in New Zealand, injuring four

A man wielding an axe entered three Chinese restaurants on Monday night in New Zealand's largest city Auckland, sending four people to hospital, authorities and local media reported. One victim was discharged and three remain in stable condition, North Shore and Auckland hospital spokespeople said on Tuesday.

Exclusive-Kyiv in talks with Western weapons makers about setting up production in Ukraine -minister

Ukraine is in negotiations with Western arms manufacturers to boost production of weapons, including drones, and could sign contracts in coming months, a Ukrainian minister told Reuters. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year Ukraine has been scrambling to secure weapons ranging from munitions to rocket launchers to missiles. It has received support from countries such as the United States, Germany and Britain and Sergiy Boyev, deputy minister for Strategic Industries in Ukraine, said Kyiv was in talks with manufacturers from Germany, Italy, France and eastern Europe about them producing weapons in Ukraine itself.

Ships, planes search for sub that went missing on trip to Titanic wreckage

U.S. and Canadian ships and planes searched on Monday for a submarine that went missing more than a day earlier off the coast of southeastern Canada while taking tourists to explore the wreckage of the Titanic, officials said. The U.S. Coast Guard said there was one pilot and four passengers on board and that the vessel had the capacity to be submerged for 96 hours, but it was unclear whether it was still underwater or had surfaced and was unable to communicate.

Xi, Blinken agree to stabilize US-China relations in Beijing talks

China and the United States agreed on Monday to stabilize their intense rivalry so it does not veer into conflict, but failed to produce any major breakthrough during a rare visit to Beijing by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed "progress" after shaking hands with Blinken at the Great Hall of the People, a grand venue usually reserved for greeting heads of state.

Greek migrant tragedy death toll rises, suspects detained

The suspected smugglers of scores of migrants who drowned in a Mediterranean Sea shipwreck last week are expected to face manslaughter charges in a Greek court this week, while Pakistan detained a dozen suspects over the disaster. Greece recovered three more bodies on Monday, bringing the confirmed toll to 81, after a fishing boat packed with hundreds of migrants sank of its south-west coast last week in a journey which started from Libya and was supposed to end in Italy.

NATO ready to act to save Kosovo's peace, calls for de-escalation

NATO forces in Kosovo are ready to face any situation if acts of violence similar to recent encounters threaten the peace, the NATO commander in Pristina said late on Monday. Some 30 NATO peacekeeping soldiers defending three town halls in northern Kosovo were injured in clashes with Serb protesters late on May. Fifty-two protesters were wounded.

Israeli troops, backed by helicopter, kill 5 Palestinians in clash

Israeli forces backed by the rare use of helicopter gunships killed five Palestinians including a teenager and wounded more than 90, as a West Bank raid led to an hours-long gunbattle with armed fighters, the military and health officials said. Eight Israeli personnel were wounded after troops came under fire during an operation in the flashpoint city of Jenin to arrest two Palestinians suspected in attacks, the military said. At least three of the Palestinians killed in the fighting belonged to the armed Islamic Jihad group.

Ukraine prepares 'biggest blow' as it claims recapture of eight villages from Russia

Ukraine said on Monday it had driven Russian forces out of an eighth village in its two-week-old counteroffensive and a defence official vowed Kyiv's "biggest blow" lay ahead despite tough resistance from Moscow's troops. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian forces had retaken Piatykhatky, a settlement on a heavily fortified part of the front line near the most direct route to the country's Azov Sea coast.

US urges 'orderly, responsible' drawdown of UN peacekeepers from Mali

The United States regrets a decision by Mali's interim military authorities to ask a United Nations peacekeeping force to leave the country, the State Department said on Monday, calling for an "orderly and responsible" drawdown of the mission. Mali's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop made the request during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Friday, citing a "crisis of confidence" between Malian authorities and the decade-long U.N. mission known as MINUSMA.

Blinken urges China's vigilance on its firms providing tech to Russia

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday he had asked China's government to be vigilant about private companies that may be providing Russia with technology that could be used against Ukraine, although he said he had seen no evidence Beijing is providing lethal assistance to Moscow. "What we do have ongoing concerns about, though, are Chinese firms, companies, that may be providing technology that Russia can use to advance its aggression in Ukraine and we have asked the Chinese government to be very vigilant about that," Blinken told reporters.

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