Reuters World News Summary

Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, has been the transatlantic security alliance’s leader since 2014 and his tenure has already been extended three other times. Israeli troops withdraw from West Bank's Jenin Israeli forces withdrew from the Palestinian city of Jenin on Tuesday, Reuters witnesses said, after carrying out one of their biggest military operations in the occupied West Bank for years.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia, Ukraine accuse each other of plotting imminent attack on nuclear plant

Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday accused each other of plotting to stage an attack on the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, long the subject of mutual recriminations and suspicions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, about Russian "dangerous provocations" at the plant in southeastern Ukraine.

British lawmakers say new health agency had weak financial controls

The UK Health Security Agency was set up with financial controls that were so weak parliament cannot establish whether it used funds in the way intended, a critical report by lawmakers said on Wednesday. The UKHSA, which was established in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic to take over responsibility for public health and health protection, responded to the criticism by saying it had now improved its governance.

Japan to prepare for August start of Fukushima water release -Nikkei

The Japanese government is looking to start the release of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant as early as in August after receiving a stamp of approval from the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the Nikkei reported. In a major milestone for the process of decommissioning the power plant destroyed in the massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday said a two-year review showed Japan's plans for the water release were consistent with global safety standards.

Russia says there are 'certain contacts' with U.S. on detained U.S. reporter Gershkovich

Russia said on Tuesday that there were "certain contacts" with the United States over the case of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but that it did not want to make them public. The Kremlin made the remark a day after U.S. ambassador Lynne Tracy was allowed to visit Gershkovich in a Moscow prison for only the second time. Hours later, the Russian embassy in Moscow said its staff had visited Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian national who is in pre-trial detention in Ohio on cybercrime charges.

Exclusive-Syrian regime organised feared ghost militias, war crimes researchers say

In the early years of Syria's brutal conflict, top government officials established and directed paramilitary groups known as shabbiha to help the state crack down on opponents, war crimes investigators have documented. In a report shared with Reuters, the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA) published seven documents its investigators said showed that the highest levels of Syria's government "planned, organised, instigated and deployed" the shabbiha from the start of the war in 2011.

Fundraiser for policeman who shot French teenager reflects polarisation

A campaign to raise money for the family of the policeman who shot dead French teenager Nahel M. topped 1.47 million euros($1.6 million) on Tuesday, far outstripping donations to Nahel's family and causing shame and anger among many French people. The fallout from the shooting, and from the wave of rioting it triggered in France's poor suburbs, continued to dominate political debate, with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne advocating in parliament a crackdown on young rioters and their parents.

Analysis-Abraham Accord Arab states seen sticking with Israel despite Jenin violence

Public fury is growing in the Arab world over one of Israel's biggest military operations in the occupied West Bank in years, yet Arab states which normalised ties with Israel are unlikely to turn their condemnation of the Israeli assault into action. Thousands of people were evacuated from the Jenin refugee camp as the Israeli operation continued for a second day on Tuesday, and Palestinian officials said at least 10 people had been killed. Israel says its army is destroying infrastructure and weapons of Iran-backed militant groups in the camp.

Ukraine reports 'particularly fruitful' few days in counteroffensive

A Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces has been "particularly fruitful" in the past few days and Ukraine's troops are fulfilling their main tasks, a senior security official said on Tuesday. The comments by Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, were Kyiv's latest positive assessment of the month-old counterattack although Moscow has not acknowledged Ukraine's gains.

NATO extends boss Stoltenberg's term by a year

NATO on Tuesday extended Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's contract by another year, opting to stick with an experienced leader rather than try to agree on a successor as war rages on the alliance's doorstep. Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, has been the transatlantic security alliance's leader since 2014 and his tenure has already been extended three other times.

Israeli troops withdraw from West Bank's Jenin

Israeli forces withdrew from the Palestinian city of Jenin on Tuesday, Reuters witnesses said, after carrying out one of their biggest military operations in the occupied West Bank for years. Two Reuters witnesses said they saw convoys of Israeli military vehicles leaving Jenin after dark in what appeared to signal an end to an Israeli operation that began early on Monday.

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