World News Roundup: French farmers block roads, dump produce as protest edges closer to Paris; Russia accuses Ukraine of killing 65 of its own PoWs by shooting down plane and more

Girkin, who denied the charge, has accused President Vladimir Putin and the army top brass of not pursuing the Ukraine war effectively enough and had also publicly entertained ideas about running against Putin in an upcoming presidential election. Finland's presidential hopefuls vie to offer toughest stance on Russia Maintaining friendly relations with Russia used to be an important task for Finnish presidents, but Sunday's election of a new leader will mark an unprecedented hardening of their approach towards the old neighbour.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

French farmers block roads, dump produce as protest edges closer to Paris

Farmers blocked highways across France and emptied the contents of several trucks carrying foreign-grown vegetables on Thursday as they pressed the government to protect them from cheap imports, rising costs and red tape. Farmers said the protests, now in their second week after breaking out in the southwest, would continue as long as their demands are not met, posing the first big challenge for new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.

Israeli tanks batter hospital districts in Gaza's Khan Younis, displaced set to flee southward

Israeli tanks bombarded areas around two hospitals in Gaza's main southern city Khan Younis on Thursday, forcing displaced people into a new desperate scramble for safe shelter, residents said, in an offensive Israel says is targeting Hamas militants. Gaza health officials said at least 50 Palestinians had been killed in Khan Younis in the past 24 hours, including two children in an Israeli air strike that hit a residential home.

Pakistan has 'credible evidence' to link Indian agents to killings of Pakistani citizens

Pakistan said on Thursday it had "credible evidence" linking Indian agents to the killings of two Pakistani citizens on Pakistani soil. "These are killings-for-hire cases involving a sophisticated international set-up spread over multiple jurisdictions," Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Qazi told reporters.

Russia accuses Ukraine of killing 65 of its own PoWs by shooting down plane

Russia accused Ukraine on Wednesday of deliberately shooting down a Russian military transport plane carrying 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers to a prisoner exchange in what it called a barbaric act of terrorism that had killed a total of 74 people. Ukraine did not directly confirm it had shot down the Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane, which was downed near the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border, and challenged key parts of Moscow's narrative. Nor did it confirm that Ukrainian prisoners were on board.

Taiwan president-elect says he hopes for continued firm US support

Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te said on Thursday he hopes the United States can continue to firmly support Taiwan, as he met the first group of U.S. lawmakers to visit Taipei since he won an election earlier this month. Lai, from Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the current vice president, will take office on May 20. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, believes he is a dangerous separatist and has rejected his offers of talks.

Trump leads Biden in election rematch, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

Donald Trump leads Democratic President Joe Biden by six percentage points in a Reuters/Ipsos poll that showed Americans are unhappy about an election rematch that came into sharper focus following the former president's New Hampshire victory. The nationwide poll of 1,250 U.S. adults showed Trump leading Biden 40% to 34% with the rest unsure or planning to vote for someone else or no one. The poll had a margin of error of three percentage points.

US envoy sees rapid F-16s sale to Turkey after Sweden NATO bid sign-off

The U.S. ambassador to Turkey said he anticipates that President Tayyip Erdogan will give a final sign-off on Sweden's NATO membership within days, triggering rapid steps toward U.S. Congress endorsing a sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara. In an interview on Thursday, Ambassador Jeff Flake said that once the formal ratification document is received in Washington, the U.S. State Department will immediately send Congress notification of the $20 billion F-16s sale.

Exclusive-Ukraine to start building 4 new nuclear reactors this year - minister

Ukraine expects to start construction work on four new nuclear power reactors this summer or autumn, Energy Minister German Galushchenko told Reuters on Thursday, as the country seeks to compensate for lost energy capacity due to the war with Russia. Two of the units - which include reactors and related equipment - will be based on Russian-made equipment that Ukraine wants to import from Bulgaria, while the other two will use Western technology from power equipment maker Westinghouse.

Russian court jails prominent nationalist Girkin for four years over 'extremism'

Prominent Russian nationalist Igor Girkin was convicted by a Moscow court on Thursday of inciting extremism and sentenced to four years in a penal colony. Girkin, who denied the charge, has accused President Vladimir Putin and the army top brass of not pursuing the Ukraine war effectively enough and had also publicly entertained ideas about running against Putin in an upcoming presidential election.

Finland's presidential hopefuls vie to offer toughest stance on Russia

Maintaining friendly relations with Russia used to be an important task for Finnish presidents, but Sunday's election of a new leader will mark an unprecedented hardening of their approach towards the old neighbour. For the first time since World War Two, Finland's presidential hopefuls are competing to present the toughest stance against Russia during their campaigns, aiming to please voters who perceive Russia's behaviour towards its neighbours as hostile and aggressive, political analysts said.