World News Roundup: All homes on one of Tonga's islands destroyed, three dead; Maltese conservative Metsola becomes third woman to head EU parliament and more

Russian military forces and hardware began arriving in ex-Soviet Belarus on Monday for the "Allied Resolve" drills to be held near Belarus's western border with NATO members Poland and Lithuania, and close to its southern flank with Ukraine. Tongans fear never seeing loved ones again amid communications void "The worst fear is always that you're not going to see the people that you love again," says Seini Taumoepeau, a Tongan-Australian artist and activist based in Sydney, as she waits to hear from her family after Tonga's volcanic eruption and tsunami.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

All homes on one of Tonga's islands destroyed, three dead

All the homes on one of Tonga's small outer islands were destroyed in the massive volcanic eruption and tsunami, with three people so far confirmed dead, the government said on Tuesday in its first update since the disaster hit. With communications severely hampered by an undersea cable being severed, information on the scale of the devastation after Saturday's eruption, causing waves up to 15 metres high, has so far mostly come from reconnaissance aircraft.

Maltese conservative Metsola becomes third woman to head EU parliament

Maltese lawmaker Roberta Metsola secured overwhelming support to become president of the European Parliament on Tuesday, making her the first woman to hold the post for 20 years. Metsola succeeds Italian socialist David Sassoli in the mainly ceremonial role presiding over the 705-member parliament of the European Union, after he died this month aged 65.

'Nonsense' that British PM lied about lockdown party, says deputy

An accusation by British prime minister Boris Johnson's former senior adviser that he lied to parliament about a lockdown party at his official residence is nonsense, his deputy said on Tuesday. Johnson faces the gravest crisis of his tenure after revelations about gatherings during COVID-19 lockdowns, some when British people could not even bid farewell in person to dying relatives and the Queen was mourning her husband.

Autocracies outdo democracies on public trust - survey

Public trust in governments running the world's democracies has fallen to new lows over their handling of the pandemic and amid a widespread sense of economic pessimism, a global survey has found. The Edelman Trust Barometer, which for two decades has polled thousands of people on trust in their governments, media, business and NGOs, conversely showed rising scores in several autocratic states, notably China.

U.S.'s Blinken to visit Ukraine following Russia talks

U.S. President Joe Biden's top diplomat will visit Kyiv this week after talks with Russia ended in a stalemate last week amid concerns in Washington that Moscow is preparing to invade Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.

Analysis-Best supporting actor? NATO in secondary role if Russia invades Ukraine

NATO would be likely to reinforce its troop presence in the Black Sea and the Baltics while fending off cyberattacks if Russia were to invade Ukraine, diplomats and former officials said. But with the Western military alliance under no treaty obligation to defend Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, some of the toughest decisions could fall on the European Union.

World tourism inched back in 2021, still a fraction of pre-pandemic levels

The world tourism industry barely improved last year compared to 2020, with all indicators staying way below pre-pandemic levels and industry professionals not expecting a full recovery before 2024, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said on Tuesday. The tourism industry suffered a huge blow in 2020 as a result of lockdowns and travel restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, which made people around the world limit their activity and lose their livelihoods.

Russia, Belarus to rehearse repelling external attack in joint drills

Russia and Belarus will rehearse repelling an external attack when they hold joint military drills in Belarus next month, both sides said on Tuesday, at a time of acute tensions with the West over neighbouring Ukraine. Russian military forces and hardware began arriving in ex-Soviet Belarus on Monday for the "Allied Resolve" drills to be held near Belarus's western border with NATO members Poland and Lithuania, and close to its southern flank with Ukraine.

Tongans fear never seeing loved ones again amid communications void

"The worst fear is always that you're not going to see the people that you love again," says Seini Taumoepeau, a Tongan-Australian artist and activist based in Sydney, as she waits to hear from her family after Tonga's volcanic eruption and tsunami. "The worst fear is the suffering of other people, that's hard to cope with. Probably even more than your own suffering," Taumoepeau says as she holds back tears.

Around 20 killed in deadliest coalition strikes on Yemen's Sanaa since 2019

Air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthi group on the capital Sanaa killed at least 20 people overnight, including civilians, Houthi media and residents said, in one of its deadliest attacks since 2019. Around 14 people were killed when coalition planes struck the home of a high-ranking Houthi military official, including his wife and son, according to neighbours and a medic.

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