Reuters World News Summary

Hours before Russia's announcement on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the last defenders at the steelworks had been told by Ukraine's military that they could get out and save their lives. U.S. slams China, U.N. rights chief, ahead of Xinjiang visit The United States is "deeply concerned" that China will restrict access on a visit by U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, the State Department said on Friday, while also criticizing Bachelet for "silence" in the face of what it said were atrocities in China's western Xinjiang region.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Biden officials consider inviting Cuban representative to Americas summit -source

Biden administration officials are considering inviting a Cuban representative to the U.S.-hosted Summit of the Americas, a person familiar with the matter said, as Washington scrambled to head off a potentially embarrassing boycott by some regional leaders. Discussion has focused on allowing a Cuban presence at the next month's Los Angeles summit below the level of the country's president or foreign minister, but it is at an early stage and no decision has been made, the source told Reuters on Friday.

WHO calls emergency meeting as monkeypox cases top 100 in Europe

The World Health Organization was holding an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the recent outbreak of monkeypox, a viral infection more common to west and central Africa, after over 100 cases were confirmed or suspected in Europe. In what Germany described as the largest outbreak in Europe ever, cases have been reported in at least nine countries – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom - as well as the United States, Canada and Australia.

Australian voters head to polls in close-run election

Australians vote in a national election on Saturday, with opinion polls showing the opposition Labor Party narrowly ahead of the ruling conservative coalition although a strong showing by climate-focused independents could lead to a hung parliament. Centre-left Labor held a decent lead going into the campaign after nine years in opposition, but recent polls showed Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Liberal-National government narrowing the gap in the final stretch of a tough, six-week campaign.

Siege ends at Ukraine's Mariupol steelworks, Russia seeks control of Donbas

The last Ukrainian forces holed up in Mariupol's smashed Azovstal steelworks surrendered on Friday, Russia's defense ministry said, ending the most destructive siege of the war as Moscow fought to cement control over the Donbas region. Hours before Russia's announcement on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the last defenders at the steelworks had been told by Ukraine's military that they could get out and save their lives.

U.S. slams China, U.N. rights chief, ahead of Xinjiang visit

The United States is "deeply concerned" that China will restrict access on a visit by U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, the State Department said on Friday, while also criticizing Bachelet for "silence" in the face of what it said were atrocities in China's western Xinjiang region. China's foreign ministry announced that Bachelet will visit the country from May 23 to 28, in what will be the first U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights trip there since 2005. Her schedule includes a trip to Xinjiang, where activists say some 1 million Uyghurs Muslims have been held in mass detention.

Protesters clash with police ahead of Davos meeting

Dozens of anti-capitalist protesters clashed with police in Zurich on Friday ahead of the World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual meeting in the Alpine resort of Davos starting on Sunday.

The unauthorised "Smash WEF" demonstration is a regular occurrence in Switzerland's financial hub before the world's business and political elite gather around 120 km (70 miles) away.

France's Macron opts for continuity in government reshuffle

Emmanuel Macron retained his finance and interior ministers while appointing only the second woman to head France's foreign ministry, as the president reshuffled his cabinet ahead of parliamentary elections next month. After his re-election in April, when the far right came its closest yet to taking the presidency, centrist Macron pledged to govern France "in a different way" from a first term during which his focus on economic reforms left much of the electorate discontented.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy proposes formal deal on compensation from Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday proposed a formal deal with the country's allies to secure Russian compensation for the damage its forces have caused during the war. Zelenskiy, who says Russia is trying to destroy as much of Ukraine's infrastructure as it can, said such a deal would show nations planning aggressive acts that they would have to pay for their actions.

U.S. says Turkey's approach to Sweden, Finland NATO bid not a bilateral topic

Turkey's approach to the NATO accession process of Sweden and Finland is not a bilateral issue between Washington and Ankara, the U.S. State Department said on Friday, but added that Washington was speaking with Ankara and it remained confident that the dispute would be overcome. Finland and Sweden say they have been spurred into joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization by Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, reversing generations of military non-alignment to bring about the biggest shakeup in European security in decades.

First stop Samsung: Biden touts S.Korean role in securing global supply chains

Joe Biden's first stop on his inaugural trip to Asia as U.S. president on Friday was a massive Samsung Electronics semiconductor plant, underscoring a message of economic security with an eye on China and the war in Ukraine. Biden landed at the U.S. military's Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, and immediately drove to Samsung's nearby factory, the largest semiconductor plant in the world. There he greeted South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, a relative newcomer to politics, for the first time in person.

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