Reuters World News Summary

The government has reached a "different view" about the already-legislated tax cuts, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said, as the conservative opposition coalition criticised the government for breaking an election pledge of retaining the tax cuts. Qatar says Netanyahu's reported criticism undermines Gaza mediation Qatar on Wednesday said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was obstructing mediation efforts in the Gaza war after a leaked recording allegedly captured him calling the Gulf state "problematic".

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Nearly all US Senate Democrats back two-state solution for Israel and Palestinians

An overwhelming majority of President Joe Biden's fellow Democrats in the Senate on Wednesday backed a statement reiterating U.S. support of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Forty-nine of the 51 members of the Senate Democratic caucus backed an amendment supporting a negotiated solution to the conflict that results in Israeli and Palestinian states living side by side, ensuring Israel's survival as a secure, democratic, Jewish state and fulfilling the Palestinians' "legitimate aspirations" for a state of their own.

Australia's Labor government defends shift in personal tax policy

Australia's centre-left Labor government on Thursday defended proposed tax rule changes that would trim benefits to the wealthy while giving low-income earners more breaks, in a bid to win back voters battling higher costs. The government has reached a "different view" about the already-legislated tax cuts, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said, as the conservative opposition coalition criticised the government for breaking an election pledge of retaining the tax cuts.

Qatar says Netanyahu's reported criticism undermines Gaza mediation

Qatar on Wednesday said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was obstructing mediation efforts in the Gaza war after a leaked recording allegedly captured him calling the Gulf state "problematic". "We are appalled by the alleged remarks attributed to the Israeli Prime Minister in various media reports about Qatar's mediation role," Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari, said on social media platform X.

Colombia inspector general suspends foreign minister for 3 months

Colombia's inspector general on Wednesday suspended Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva from his role for three months over possible irregularities in the tender process for producing passports in the Andean country. Leyva last year declared the bidding process void after just one company, Thomas Greg & Sons - which was already producing Colombian passports - tendered an offer.

Russia accuses Ukraine of killing 65 of its own PoWs by shooting down plane

Russia accused Ukraine on Wednesday of deliberately shooting down a Russian military transport plane carrying 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers to a prisoner exchange in what it called a barbaric act of terrorism that had killed a total of 74 people. The Russian defence ministry said six Russian crew members and three Russian soldiers had been on the Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane shot down near the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border.

Israel denies attack on UN refuge in Gaza that drew rebuke from Washington

The United Nations said on Wednesday that Israeli tanks struck a huge U.N. compound in Gaza sheltering displaced Palestinians, causing "mass casualties", but Israel denied its forces were responsible and suggested Hamas may have launched the shelling. The attack, which the U.N. said hit a vocational training centre housing 30,000 displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza's main city, prompted rare outright condemnation from the United States.

NATO's largest military exercise since Cold War kicks off

The U.S. Navy dock landing ship Gunston Hall left port on Wednesday to mark the first movement for the largest NATO exercise since the Cold War, officials said. WHAT IS HAPPENING

UK offers cruise-missile swap to Germany to aid Ukraine -Handelsblatt

Britain has offered Germany a swap of cruise missiles that could allow the German government a way to overcome concerns over a suggested delivery of missiles to Ukraine, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday. Kyiv has been pushing Berlin to supply its Taurus missiles, which could give Ukraine the ability to cause significant damage deeper within Russian-occupied territory, but the German government has remained hesitant out of concern that could trigger an international escalation of the conflict.

EU teams up with several European ports in war on drugs

The European Union together with European port authorities on Thursday launched a new public-private alliance to boost expertise and information sharing to help tackle drug smuggling and organised crime in the bloc. The alliance comes as seizures of cocaine in the EU are at record levels, with more than 300 metric tons seized annually, the EU said in a statement.

Thousands of Portuguese police protest over wages, hazard pay

Thousands of off-duty police officers in plain clothes on Wednesday protested in Lisbon for better wages, demanding the same increases in hazard pay that the outgoing government recently granted to the criminal investigation police (PJ). In late November, after Prime Minister Antonio Costa's resignation but while he still had full powers to make long-term decisions, the government approved hazard pay rises for the PJ that can reach almost 700 euros ($763) per month and are retroactive to January 2023.

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