World News Roundup: Blinken carries Arab message to Israel: keep hope of Palestinian state alive; Mass killer Breivik to testify in Norway in bid to end prison isolation and more

The move will not necessarily lead to any major political shift, but signals a desire for Macron to try to move beyond last year's unpopular pension and immigration reforms and improve his centrist party's chances in the June EU ballot. Kremlin has 'no comment' on U.S., Ukraine claims it fired North Korean missiles The Kremlin declined on Tuesday to comment on U.S. and Ukrainian assertions that Moscow had fired North Korean missiles at Ukrainian targets, but it also accused Kyiv of using missiles produced by Western nations to strike targets in Russia.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

China piles pressure on Taiwan ahead of election

China threatened new trade measures against Taiwan on Tuesday, piling on pressure ahead of weekend elections, as Taipei complained of more Chinese balloons and the ruling party's presidential candidate warned against "fake peace" with Beijing. Saturday's presidential and parliamentary elections are taking place against a backdrop of a ramped-up war of words between Taiwan and China, which views the island as its own territory despite the strong objections of the Taiwanese government.

UK's Rwanda asylum legislation to return to parliament next week

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's legislation to block further court challenges to the government's plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda will return to parliament next week. Sunak faced the most serious threat to his leadership when he saw off a revolt by dozens of his lawmakers during the first parliamentary vote on the draft legislation last month.

Mass killer Breivik to testify in Norway in bid to end prison isolation

Anders Behring Breivik, the far-right fanatic who killed 77 people in a bombing and shooting rampage in Norway in 2011, will testify in court on Tuesday as he presses on with a lawsuit to end his years of isolation in prison. The 44-year-old, who emailed out copies of an ultra-nationalist manifesto before his attacks setting out his theories, is also suing the state in a bid to lift restrictions on his correspondence with the outside world.

Indian AI startup CEO arrested after body of 4-year-old son found in luggage

The CEO of an Indian AI startup has been arrested on suspicion that she murdered her four-year-old son after his body was found in her luggage, police said on Tuesday. Suchana Seth, who heads The Mindful AI Lab in India’s tech hub of Bengaluru, was detained in the Chitradurga district of Karnataka state when she was returning from the neighbouring state of Goa by taxi and arrested after the body was found in her luggage, they said.

Blinken carries Arab message to Israel: keep hope of Palestinian state alive

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on his latest mission to rein in the Gaza war, told Israeli leaders on Tuesday there was still a chance of winning acceptance from their Arab neighbours, if they create a path to a viable Palestinian state.

On his fourth trip to the region since October in a so far largely fruitless quest to tamp down the violence, Blinken said he would share what he had heard in two days of talks with Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

North Korea stokes fear, uncertainty for migrant workers on S.Korean island

Sri Lankans Siyam Mohamed and MJ Nimshan Dananjaya hadn't realised how close South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island is to North Korea when they arrived in November to work catching crabs. They had a rude awakening on Friday, however, when alerts sounded on their phones - indecipherable as they don't read Korean - followed by the boom of artillery fire.

Gabriel Attal becomes France's youngest PM as Macron seeks reset

French President Emmanuel Macron appointed 34-year-old Education Minister Gabriel Attal as his new prime minister on Tuesday, seeking to breathe new life into his second mandate ahead of European parliament elections. The move will not necessarily lead to any major political shift, but signals a desire for Macron to try to move beyond last year's unpopular pension and immigration reforms and improve his centrist party's chances in the June EU ballot.

Kremlin has 'no comment' on U.S., Ukraine claims it fired North Korean missiles

The Kremlin declined on Tuesday to comment on U.S. and Ukrainian assertions that Moscow had fired North Korean missiles at Ukrainian targets, but it also accused Kyiv of using missiles produced by Western nations to strike targets in Russia. Last week the White House said Russia had used short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) sourced from North Korea to conduct multiple strikes against Ukraine, citing newly declassified intelligence. A senior Ukrainian official later corroborated the assertion.

United, Alaska find loose parts on 737 MAX planes, raising pressure on Boeing

Boeing's latest 737 MAX crisis deepened after United Airlines and Alaska Airlines said they had found loose parts on multiple grounded MAX 9 aircraft, raising new concerns among industry experts about how its best-selling jet family is manufactured. U.S. regulators grounded 171 MAX 9 planes after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines-operated flight not long after taking off from a Portland, Oregon, airport on Friday, forcing pilots to scramble to land the plane safely.

South Korean opposition leader to be discharged from hospital

The leader of South Korea's main opposition party, Lee Jae-myung, will be discharged on Wednesday from the hospital where he has been recovering since an attacker stabbed him in the neck last week at a public event, his party said on Tuesday.

Lee's condition has improved and he will continue to receive treatment at home, although it is not known when he might resume his duties, Democratic Party official Kwon Hyuk-ki told reporters.

(With inputs from agencies.)