Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Prince Harry, Elton John appear at UK court in privacy lawsuit

Britain's Prince Harry and singer Elton John made a surprise appearance at London's High Court on Monday as they and five others began a lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail paper over years of alleged phone-tapping and privacy breaches. Harry, the younger son of King Charles, has brought a lawsuit against Associated Newspapers (ANL), along with John, and his husband David Furnish, as well as actors Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost.

German governing coalition fails to settle disputes after 20 hours of talks

The three parties in Germany's governing coalition on Monday ended 20 hours of talks without resolving disputes over spending and other issues although Chancellor Olaf Scholz said they achieved "very good progress." Amid worries about policy gridlock in Europe's largest economy, Germany's first coalition at the federal level, which joins Scholz's Social Democrats, the Greens and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), has been arguing for weeks or months over various policy initiatives.

NZ Foreign Minister says encouraged China to support Pacific regional institutions

New Zealand's foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta said on Tuesday she had encouraged China to support and strengthen Pacific regional institutions and uphold a 22-year old agreement that sees Pacific countries look after their own security needs.

After returning from Beijing, Mahuta told reporters she had encouraged China to support regional Pacific architecture such as the Pacific Islands Forum, the Forum Fisheries Agency and the Biketawa agreement.

North Korea's Kim calls for scaling up weapons grade nuclear materials -KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for scaling up the production of weapons-grade nuclear materials to increase the country's nuclear arsenal, saying it should be fully ready to use the weapons at any time, state media KCNA said on Tuesday. Kim made the remarks during an inspection of the country's nuclear weapons programme where it tested trigger technology, KCNA said.

Russia fails at UN to get Nord Stream blast inquiry

Russia failed on Monday to get the U.N. Security Council to ask for an independent inquiry into explosions in September on the Nord Stream gas pipelines connecting Russia and Germany that spewed gas into the Baltic Sea. Only Russia, China and Brazil voted in favor of the Russian-drafted text, while the remaining 12 council members abstained. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, the United States or Britain to pass.

Three children, 3 adults shot dead by ex-student at Tennessee Christian school

A heavily armed 28-year-old fatally shot three children and three adult staffers on Monday at a private Christian school the suspect once attended in Tennessee's capital city before police killed the assailant, authorities said. The motive was not immediately known but the suspect had drawn detailed maps of the school, including entry points for the building, and left behind a "manifesto" and other writings that investigators were examining, Police Chief John Drake told reporters.

Guatemala sets lineup for presidential vote as critics slam disqualifications

Guatemala's presidential race kicked off on Monday, a day after the electoral authority finalized its approved candidate lineup for the June election, even as critics blasted decisions to disqualify some candidates while allowing others to run. Polls point to two conservative women as early presidential front-runners.

Netanyahu suspends judicial overhaul after day of Israeli turmoil

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paused his signature plan to overhaul Israel's judiciary after a day of nationwide turmoil when workers joined a general strike against the proposal and hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets. The plans by his nationalist religious coalition to hand control over judicial appointments to the executive while giving parliament the power to overturn Supreme Court rulings has ignited one of the biggest internal crises in Israeli history.

Exclusive-German prosecutors, prompted by Reuters report, search home of pro-Kremlin activists

German prosecutors said on Monday they searched the home of two pro-Kremlin activists, looking for evidence to corroborate a Reuters report that the couple donated cash to buy radios for Russian soldiers in Ukraine. Reuters reported in January that Max Schlund and his romantic partner Elena Kolbasnikova donated funds collected from supporters in Germany to a Russian army division fighting in Ukraine, and the money was used to purchase walkie-talkie radios, headphones and telephones.

Zelenskiy to IAEA: Russia holds nuclear plant hostage

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency that safety at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station could not be guaranteed until Russian troops left the facility. The president met Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, on Monday at the Dnipro hydroelectric power station - northeast of the Zaporizhzhia plant.

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