Reuters World News Summary

On his fifth trip to the region since the deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday criticized Israeli military activity in Gaza, saying civilian deaths remained too high even after repeated warnings, and suggested specific steps for Israel to follow. Zelenskiy confirms prisoner swap with Russia, with 100 Ukrainians returned Ukraine has returned 100 prisoners from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Israeli forces intensify Rafah strikes as diplomats seek to salvage Gaza truce

Israeli forces bombed areas in the southern border city of Rafah on Thursday where more than half of Gaza's population is sheltering, as diplomats sought to salvage ceasefire talks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a Hamas proposal. In a sign the diplomacy was not over, a Hamas delegation led by senior official Khalil Al-Hayya arrived in Cairo on Thursday for ceasefire negotiations with mediators Egypt and Qatar.

Ukraine replaces army chief in shakeup at difficult time in war with Russia

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy replaced Ukraine's popular army chief with his ground forces commander on Thursday, a huge gamble at a time when Russian forces are gaining the upper hand nearly two years into their war. The shakeup ushering in a new military leadership follows months of speculation about a rift between Zelenskiy and army chief General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, who many Ukrainians see as a national hero.

Net tightens on Bolsonaro as police seize passport in coup probe

Brazilian police on Thursday confiscated former President Jair Bolsonaro's passport and accused him of editing a draft decree to overturn election results, pressuring military chiefs to join a coup attempt and plotting to jail a Supreme Court justice. The bombshell allegations are the result of a probe into Bolsonaro and his inner circle for allegedly plotting a military coup after his electoral loss to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2022. Thursday's operation included search warrants against four former ministers and the arrest of four former aides.

Russia's Putin: we have no interest in invading Poland or Latvia

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview aired on Thursday that Moscow had no interest in invading "Poland, Latvia or anywhere else" and said talk that Moscow might do so was threat mongering, Putin made the comments during a two-hour conversation with U.S. television host Tucker Carlson that was recorded in Moscow on Tuesday.

North Korea leader Kim: we will wipe out enemies if they use force -KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country would not hesitate to use all of its military power to wipe out enemies if any of them used force against it as he marked the anniversary of the founding of its military, state media reported on Friday. Kim made the comments during a visit to the defence ministry on Thursday, rallying soldiers to uphold the ideology of the ruling Workers' Party and defend the country with their lives, KCNA news agency reported.

Pakistan vote counts drags on after election marred by attacks, outages

Pakistan's vote count following a national election on Thursday was hit by unusual delays, leading the country's election panel to issue a late night warning to polling officers, 10 hours after polls closed, to release results immediately. The election had already been marred by militant attacks and suspension of mobile phone services, with no indication of a clear leader many hours after voting ended.

Slovakia approves criminal law reforms that sparked protests

The Slovak parliament approved reforms scrapping a special prosecution branch dealing with high-level crime and lowering punishments for financial crimes in a fast-track procedure on Thursday, amid public protests and concerns from the European Commission. The government of Prime Minister Robert Fico, who took power last October for the fourth time after a stint in opposition, has argued the changes are necessary to end what it called excesses at the Special Prosecutor's Office and bias against the now-ruling SMER-SSD party.

As Israel attacks Rafah, US offers only words of caution

U.S. officials made their most pointed criticism so far of Israel's civilian casualties in Gaza as it turns the focus of its offensive to Rafah, but there was nothing to suggest the rhetoric from Washington would be backed by action. On his fifth trip to the region since the deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday criticized Israeli military activity in Gaza, saying civilian deaths remained too high even after repeated warnings, and suggested specific steps for Israel to follow.

Zelenskiy confirms prisoner swap with Russia, with 100 Ukrainians returned

Ukraine has returned 100 prisoners from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday. Most of those who returned were taking part in defense of Mariupol, he said on Telegram.

Guatemala to maintain Taiwan ties despite seeking greater China trade

Guatemala has no intention of breaking diplomatic relations with Taiwan despite seeking closer economic links with China, President Bernardo Arevalo said on Thursday, pledging to boost ties with both players in parallel. Guatemala is one of only a handful of nations that still maintains formal ties with Taiwan. Next-door Honduras last year switched allegiances to China, which claims Taiwan as its own, after seeking almost $2.5 billion in aid from Beijing.

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