Reuters World News Summary

A spokesperson for the Lebanese Civil Defense, a state-run rescue ​force, told Reuters the three rescuers were initially trapped under rubble by the second Israeli strike on the town of Majdal Zoun and were later confirmed dead. Putin says Ukraine has intensified attacks on civilian targets in Russia Ukraine has stepped up attacks on civilian infrastructure in Russia, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, citing a recent drone strike on an oil refinery in the southern city of Tuapse.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Exclusive-US spy agencies examine how Iran would react to Trump declaring victory

U.S. intelligence agencies are studying how Iran would respond if President Donald Trump were to declare a unilateral victory in the two-month-old war that has killed thousands and become a political liability for the White House, two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the matter said. The intelligence community is analyzing the question along with others at the request of ​senior administration officials. The goal is to understand the implications of Trump potentially pulling back from a conflict that some officials and advisers worry could contribute to deep Republican losses at the midterm elections later this year, according to the sources.

US conditions for paying U.N. dues include China curbs -report

The United States ​has placed specific conditions on releasing billions of dollars it owes to the United Nations, including further cost-cutting, and moves to counter China's influence at the world body, a development news wire reported on Tuesday. The ‌report by Devex, an independent ​news organization covering global development, said two diplomatic notes circulated by the U.S. called for nine "quick-hit" reforms as a condition for releasing more funds.

Explainer-What is OPEC+ and how does it affect oil prices?

The United Arab Emirates, one of OPEC+'s largest producers, will leave the oil producers' alliance on May 1, it said on Tuesday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, including Russia, are known collectively as OPEC+. Last year, the group produced nearly 50% of the world's oil and oil liquids, according to International Energy Agency estimates. The UAE is the fourth largest producer in OPEC+.

Trump administration indicts former NIH official over COVID records

The Trump administration has indicted a former National Institutes of Health official over allegations of evading federal records requests related to COVID-19 pandemic research grants and the use of personal email for government business. A grand jury in Maryland charged David Morens, a senior official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) during the pandemic, with conspiring to evade records requests received by the agency between April 2020 ‌and December 2022.

Ukraine strikes Russia's Tuapse refinery, Putin says attacks intensifying on civilian targets

A Ukrainian drone attack caused a major fire at a Russian oil refinery in the city of Tuapse on Tuesday, officials said, in what President Vladimir Putin described as evidence of increased Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets. It was the third attack on the Black Sea port in less than two weeks.

US ambassador to Ukraine to step down amid stalled talks to end Ukraine war

The acting U.S. ambassador to Kyiv Julie Davis will step down from her post and retire, a U.S. official and the State Department said on Tuesday, amid a lull in U.S.-brokered talks to achieve a ceasefire and end Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Financial Times first reported Davis' departure and said it was because of differences of opinion with President Donald Trump's policies and that Davis had grown frustrated with her role over his dwindling support for Ukraine.

Exclusive-Trump approval sinks to new low as war with Iran drives cost-of-living concerns

President Donald Trump's approval rating sank to the lowest level of his current term, as Americans increasingly soured on his handling of the cost of living and an unpopular war with Iran, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The four-day poll completed on Monday showed 34% of Americans approve of Trump's performance in the White House, down from 36% in a prior Reuters/Ipsos survey, which was conducted from April 15 to 20.

US, allies release joint statement supporting Panama's sovereignty

The ‌United States, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago released a joint statement in support of Panama's sovereignty on Tuesday, saying recent actions by China are an attempt to politicize maritime trade and infringe on the sovereignty of nations in the hemisphere. "We are monitoring with vigilance China’s targeted economic pressure and the recent actions that have affected Panama-flagged vessels," the statement said. "Panama is a pillar of our maritime trading system, and as such must remain free from any undue external pressure."

Iraqi security forces open fire at drone flying over Baghdad’s Green Zone

Iraqi security forces opened fire at a drone flying over Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, security sources said ‌on Tuesday, adding that it was likely being used for surveillance. The drone managed to escape after coming under fire, the sources said, with no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

UAE leaves OPEC in blow to global oil producers' group

The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday said it was quitting OPEC, dealing a blow to the oil producers' group as an unprecedented energy crisis caused by the Iran war exposes discord among Gulf nations. The exit of the UAE - one of the group's biggest producers - weakens OPEC's control over global oil supplies and widens a rift between the UAE and its neighbour Saudi Arabia, effectively the leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Senegal MPs back electoral reform that could open door to Sonko candidacy

Senegal's National Assembly overwhelmingly approved on Tuesday changes to the country's electoral code, introducing provisions that could pave the way for Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko to run in the 2029 presidential election. Firebrand opposition leader Sonko, 51, was excluded from standing in the 2024 election following a conviction, which could potentially bar him again in 2029. His handpicked successor, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, went on to win the presidency.

Exclusive-Russian 'shadow fleet' undeterred by Starmer's threat as nearly 100 ships cross UK waters

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's decision last month to let the British military board ships of Russia’s so-called "shadow fleet" has had no clear impact on the number passing through UK waters, a Reuters analysis shows. In the month after Starmer's March 25 threat, at least 98 Russian vessels subject to UK sanctions transited its waters, about the same as each of the last three months.

Trump, unhappy with latest peace proposal, says Iran 'figuring out its leadership'

Efforts to end the Iran conflict were at an impasse on Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump ⁠unhappy with the latest proposal from Tehran, which ​he said had informed the U.S. it was in a "state of collapse" and figuring out its leadership situation. Iran's most recent offer for resolving the two-month war would set aside discussion of its ⁠nuclear programme until the conflict was concluded and shipping disputes resolved.

King Charles promotes US-UK unity in speech to Congress amid Iran tensions

Britain's King Charles told the U.S. Congress on Tuesday that despite an age of uncertainty and conflict in Europe and the Middle East, the UK and the U.S. will always be staunch allies united in defending democracy, at a time of deep divisions between the two long-time allies over the war with Iran. "Whatever our differences, whatever disagreements we may have, we stand united in our commitment to uphold democracy, to protect all our people from harm, and to salute the courage of those who daily risk their lives in the service of our countries," Charles told U.S. lawmakers during a rare speech to a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives, and after a prolonged standing ovation at his entrance ⁠with Queen Camilla.

Libyan court jails four human traffickers for up to 22 years, attorney general says

Libya's Tripoli Criminal Court on Tuesday convicted four members of "a criminal gang" involved in human trafficking, abductions for ransom and torture, with sentences up to 22 years, the attorney general's office said on its Facebook page. The attorney general's office did not disclose the names of the four defendants, who were sentenced to between 12 and 22 years in prison. One of the defendants was sentenced in absentia.

Israeli strikes kill five in south Lebanon, including three rescuers

Two successive Israeli strikes on a building in a southern Lebanese town killed five people on Tuesday, including three rescuers who went to help those wounded in the initial attack, Lebanon's health ministry said. A spokesperson for the Lebanese Civil Defense, a state-run rescue ​force, told Reuters the three rescuers were initially trapped under rubble by the second Israeli strike on the town of Majdal Zoun and were later confirmed dead.

Putin says Ukraine has intensified attacks on civilian targets in Russia

Ukraine has stepped up attacks on civilian infrastructure in Russia, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, citing a recent drone strike on an oil refinery in the southern city of Tuapse. "Drone strikes against civilian infrastructure are becoming more frequent," Putin said in comments broadcast on Russian television. "The latest example is the strikes against energy facilities in Tuapse, which could potentially cause serious environmental consequences."

US FCC reviewing Disney's ABC station ⁠licenses after Jimmy Kimmel joke

After a joke by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel drew calls from the White House for ABC to fire the comedian, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday ordered an early license review of the network's television stations. The standoff between President Donald Trump's administration and the global entertainment conglomerate is the first crisis facing Walt Disney’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro.

Panama Canal sees spike in vessel traffic due to war in Middle East

The Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous agency that runs the major freight channel through Central America, on Tuesday said the U.S.-Iran war in the Middle East should cause more shipments to travel through the canal. "The expectation is that this will continue until the situation in the Middle East is resolved," the agency's finance chief Victor Vial said at a meeting, noting that since October the canal had registered some 300 vessels crossings compared with the same period last ⁠fiscal year.

Austrian pleads ​guilty to foiled attack on Taylor Swift's Vienna concert

A 21-year-old accused of planning an Islamist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024 that was foiled at the 11th hour pleaded guilty as his trial opened on Tuesday. The defendant, an Austrian identified as Beran A, was arrested on August 7, 2024, the day before the first of three planned concerts by the U.S. pop star in Vienna.

Elon Musk says OpenAI was his idea, before executives looted it

Elon Musk took the stand on Tuesday at a high-stakes trial over the future of OpenAI, casting his lawsuit against the ChatGPT maker as a defense of charitable giving. The world's richest person is suing OpenAI, its co-founder and Chief Executive Sam Altman and its President Greg Brockman, saying they betrayed him and the public by abandoning OpenAI's mission to be a benevolent steward of AI for humanity, and transforming the nonprofit into a profit-seeking juggernaut.

US imposes sanctions on 35 individuals, entities for aiding Iran's sanctions evasions

The U.S. government ratcheted up pressure on Tehran on Tuesday, imposing sanctions on 35 entities and individuals for their roles in Iran's shadow banking sector, and threatened sanctions against banks doing business with Chinese "teapot" refineries that it said are paying tolls for shipments to cross the Strait of Hormuz. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said the designated individuals and firms had facilitated the movement of the equivalent of tens of billions ⁠of dollars tied to sanctions evasion and what it called Iran's sponsorship of terrorism.

Exclusive-US envoy says Belarus may free more prisoners in next month

U.S. special envoy John Coale said on Tuesday he expects to secure the release of additional prisoners from Belarus within the next month, adding that further sanctions relief for Minsk could be possible if that happens. Coale spoke following the release of Andrzej Poczobut, a Polish-Belarusian journalist and activist, as part of a prisoner exchange at the border with Poland. The news was greeted with elation in Warsaw, where securing Poczobut’s release had long been a priority.

US Senate blocks bid to prevent Trump from military ⁠action against Cuba

The Republican-led U.S. Senate on Tuesday blocked a Democratic-led resolution that would have barred President Donald Trump from military action against Cuba without congressional approval. The Senate voted 51 to 47, almost entirely along party ⁠lines, on a procedural measure that blocked a war powers resolution, as members of Trump's party argued that there are no active U.S. hostilities against Cuba.

Analysis-Iran’s Guards seize wartime power, blunting Supreme Leader's role

Two months into a war with the U.S. and Israel, Iran no longer has a single, undisputed clerical arbiter at the pinnacle of power — an abrupt break with the past that may be hardening Tehran’s stance as it weighs renewed talks with Washington. Since its creation in 1979, the Islamic Republic has revolved around a supreme leader with final authority on all key matters of state. But the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war, and the elevation of his wounded son, Mojtaba, have ushered in a different order dominated by commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and marked by the absence of a decisive, authoritative referee.

US soldier pleads not guilty to charges of gambling on Maduro ouster

The U.S. Army soldier charged with winning $400,000 by using confidential information to bet on ‌the removal of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty to fraud charges on Tuesday. Gannon Van Dyke, 38, rose to stand ‌as he entered the plea in U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett's courtroom in Manhattan.

UN sanctions brother of Sudan's RSF leader, Colombian mercenaries

The United Nations on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa, younger brother of the head of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and three Colombian mercenaries accused of recruiting former Colombian personnel to fight in the country. A statement ​from Britain's mission to the United Nations said the sanctions were imposed by the U.N. Security Council at the proposal of the United States, Britain and France: