Reuters World News Summary

Lasso declared the state of emergency in the provinces of Manabi and Los Rios and in the city of Duran, near Guayaquil, after Agustin Intriago, the mayor of coastal city Manta, was shot dead on Sunday. Russia talks of retaliation after 'Ukrainian drone strike' near Moscow army HQ Russia spoke of taking harsh retaliatory measures against Ukraine after two drones damaged buildings in Moscow early on Monday, including one close to the Defence Ministry's headquarters, in what it called a brazen act of terror.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

White House says it does not back Ukraine attacks inside Russia

The White House said it did not support Ukraine launching attacks inside Russia after two drones from Ukraine damaged buildings in Moscow earlier on Monday. "As a general matter we do not support attacks inside of Russia," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in a press briefing.

New IAEA complaint about anti-personnel mines in Russian-held nuclear plant

The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said on Monday it had found anti-personnel mines in an area of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine and complained for the second month running that this violated safety procedures. The plant, Europe's largest nuclear facility, was seized in the first days of Russia's invasion last year. Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of shelling around the station and the International Atomic Energy Agency has been trying to set up a safety mechanism to prevent accidents.

Ecuador declares state of emergency amid violent clashes

Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso on Monday declared a state of emergency and night curfews in three coastal provinces, amid a wave of violence over the weekend in the Andean country that left at least eight people dead. Lasso declared the state of emergency in the provinces of Manabi and Los Rios and in the city of Duran, near Guayaquil, after Agustin Intriago, the mayor of coastal city Manta, was shot dead on Sunday.

Russia talks of retaliation after 'Ukrainian drone strike' near Moscow army HQ

Russia spoke of taking harsh retaliatory measures against Ukraine after two drones damaged buildings in Moscow early on Monday, including one close to the Defence Ministry's headquarters, in what it called a brazen act of terror. Nobody was hurt in the attack, of which a senior Ukrainian official said there would be more, but one drone struck close to the Moscow building where the Russian military holds briefings on what it calls its "special military operation", a symbolic blow which underscored the reach of such drones.

Senior US Treasury official to raise Russia grain deal in visit to Kenya, Somalia

A top U.S. Treasury official will highlight Washington's efforts to facilitate Russian grain and fertilizer exports during a visit to Kenya and Somalia and stress that Moscow's exit from the Black Sea grain deal will hurt African states, a spokesperson said on Monday. This week's visit by Brian Nelson, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to host African leaders in St. Petersburg on Thursday and Friday and promises them free Russian grain "to replace Ukrainian grain."

Mexico urges US court to revive $10 billion lawsuit against gun makers

The Mexican government on Monday urged a U.S. appeals court to revive a $10 billion lawsuit seeking to hold U.S. gun manufacturers responsible for facilitating the trafficking of weapons to drug cartels across the U.S.-Mexico border. A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston questioned whether a lower-court judge wrongly concluded that a U.S. law barred Mexico from suing Smith & Wesson Brands, Sturm, Ruger & Co and others.

Belarus arms emergency ministry to be ready in case of armed conflict

The Belarusian ministry of emergency situations is completing the arming and military training of its personnel to be ready to aid the defence and internal ministries in the event of an armed conflict, the head of the emergency ministry said on Monday. Emergency Minister Vadim Sinyavsky told state Belarus 1 television that employees will be ready to assist the ministries "in the event of an armed conflict or some kind of riots in which a significant number of personnel must be involved."

Protests rock Israel as it passes curbs on some Supreme Court powers

Israel's parliament on Monday ratified the first bill of a judicial overhaul sought by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after last-gasp compromise efforts collapsed and failed to ease a constitutional crisis convulsing the country for months. The amendment limiting the Supreme Court's powers to void some government decisions if it deemed them "unreasonable" passed by a 64-to-0 vote after opposition lawmakers abandoned the session in protest, some of them shouting: "For shame!"

US sues Texas over floating border barriers

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday sued Texas over floating barriers installed by the state in the Rio Grande river to block migrants crossing from Mexico. Texas authorities began installing the string of buoys in the middle of the river near Eagle Pass, Texas, last week, part of Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott's initiative dubbed Operation Lone Star to deter migrants.

Sudanese general warns Kenya against sending peacekeepers

A Sudanese general rejected in threatening language a Kenyan-led proposal that East African peacekeepers help end a more than 100-day war in Sudan in a video released on Monday, drawing sharp criticism from Kenyan authorities. The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces it is fighting have received multiple international mediation offers, but none have succeeded in ending or even significantly pausing the fighting that broke out on April 15.

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