Reuters World News Summary

Blinken, in his fourth visit to the Middle East since the war erupted in October, also urged Israel to support Palestinian leaders willing to live peacefully alongside Israelis and warned the daily toll in its war with Hamas in Gaza was far too high. Gabriel Attal becomes France's youngest PM as Macron seeks reset Gabriel Attal promised to be bold and act fast to help the middle class weather the rising cost of living, after President Emmanuel Macron, seeking to breathe new life into his second term, on Tuesday made him France's youngest ever prime minister.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Global elite gather against WEF's most complex backdrop so far

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron and key Middle East leaders are slated to attend next week's World Economic Forum, putting talks to end wars in Gaza and Ukraine at the top of the agenda for the global elite. The 54th annual WEF gathering in the Swiss ski resort of Davos will occur against its most complicated geopolitical backdrop to date, its president Borge Brende said on Tuesday.

China piles pressure on Taiwan ahead of election

China on Tuesday threatened new trade measures against Taiwan, which accused Beijing of "economic coercion" ahead of pivotal weekend elections on the island and also voiced anger at a surprise Chinese satellite launch over its air space. Saturday's presidential and parliamentary polls 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.

Norwegian mass killer Breivik says sorry, calls prison a 'nightmare'

Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik told a court on Tuesday he was sorry for what he had done and broke down in tears as he said his life in prison isolation was a nightmare that left him considering suicide every day. The far-right fanatic who killed 77 people in a bombing and shooting rampage in 2011 is suing the state, arguing that his prison conditions, and a bar on communications with the outside world, violate his human rights.

Analysis-Macron sends out France's youngest prime minister to fend off far right

By naming young political prodigy Gabriel Attal as prime minister, French President Emmanuel Macron is showing what he hopes is a winning hand to beat the far right, which is leading in opinion polls ahead of June's European parliamentary elections. Like elsewhere in Europe, France's far right has benefited from a cost-of-living crisis, untamed immigration and resentment towards a political class that Macron has failed to bring closer to common folk despite promising to shake up politics in 2017.

US top diplomat urges Israel to make hard choices, work with Palestinians

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel on Tuesday to make "hard choices" to normalize relations with more of its neighbours, a new appeal to smooth the path to creating a Palestinian state. Blinken, in his fourth visit to the Middle East since the war erupted in October, also urged Israel to support Palestinian leaders willing to live peacefully alongside Israelis and warned the daily toll in its war with Hamas in Gaza was far too high.

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

Gabriel Attal promised to be bold and act fast to help the middle class weather the rising cost of living, after President Emmanuel Macron, seeking to breathe new life into his second term, on Tuesday made him France's youngest ever prime minister. The appointment of Attal, 34, a popular and media-savvy rising star of French politics, signals a desire by Macron to move beyond divisive reforms and improve his centrist party's chances in European Parliament elections in June.

Brazil to bolster security for Yanomami territory in Amazon rainforest

Brazil will bolster security and aid efforts for the Yanomami territory, officials said on Tuesday, covering ancestral lands that for years have suffered a range of illegal activities largely fueled by wildcat gold mining. The government will spend 1.2 billion reais ($245 million) this year in security and assistance efforts for the Yanomami territory, Brazil's largest Indigenous reservation, located along the border with Venezuela.

Polish ex-ministers head for jail as police swoop on presidential palace

Police entered Poland's presidential palace to detain two of their former bosses on Tuesday, executing a court order to take the ex-interior minister and his deputy to prison and escalating a row between the head of state and the new government. Prime Minister Donald Tusk had earlier accused President Andrzej Duda of obstructing justice after the two lawmakers appeared at the palace, prompting police to search for them in cars leaving the building.

NASA delays astronaut moon landing to 2026 amid spacecraft 'challenges'

NASA on Tuesday added more delays to its Artemis moon program, scheduling for 2026 its first astronaut lunar landing in half a century while spacecraft from Elon Musk's SpaceX, Lockheed Martin and other contractors face development challenges. The U.S. space agency's first two Artemis missions involving astronauts were each pushed back nearly a year in delays designed "to give the Artemis teams more time to work through the challenges," NASA administrator Bill Nelson told reporters in a news conference.

Blinken says Israel must make 'hard choices,' work with Palestinian leaders

Israel must make "hard choices" if it wants to normalize relations with more of its neighbors and should support Palestinian leaders who are willing to live side-by-side with Israelis, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday in Tel Aviv. Blinken in recent days has toured Israel's Arab neighbors to discuss plans for the future governance of Gaza and integration in the Middle East. He is now in Israel for talks with Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet, formed after the Oct. 7 attacks by Palestinian Hamas militants that Israel says killed 1,200 people.

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