Reuters World News Summary

A source briefed on the ceasefire talks, who could not be identified by name or nationality, said talks had begun with Israel's head of Mossad intelligence service meeting separately with each party - Qatar, Egypt and United States. Scholz, marking Ukraine invasion anniversary, calls for stronger Europe Europe needs to beef up its defences and make sure it can weather any military attack from outside, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in comments mark two years since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Gaza ceasefire talks underway in Paris as air strikes continue

Gaza truce talks were underway in Paris on Friday, in what appears to be the most serious push for weeks to halt the fighting in the battered Palestinian enclave and see Israeli and foreign hostages released. A source briefed on the ceasefire talks, who could not be identified by name or nationality, said talks had begun with Israel's head of Mossad intelligence service meeting separately with each party - Qatar, Egypt and United States.

Scholz, marking Ukraine invasion anniversary, calls for stronger Europe

Europe needs to beef up its defences and make sure it can weather any military attack from outside, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in comments mark two years since Russia invaded Ukraine. "Deterrence, defence readiness - I know these are unusual words coming from a German Chancellor. Words that we in Germany have not used for so long that they have almost been forgotten," Scholz said in a podcast.

Moon lander described as tipped over sideways but 'alive and well' on lunar surface

The moon lander dubbed Odysseus is "alive and well" but resting on its side a day after a white-knuckle touchdown as the first private spacecraft ever to reach the lunar surface, and the first from the United States since 1972, the company behind the vehicle said on Friday. The chief executive officer of Houston-based Intuitive Machines, which built and flew the lander, said the vehicle is believed to have caught one of its six landing feet on the lunar surface during its final descent and tipped over, coming to rest propped up sideways on a rock.

Huge apartment block fire in Spain kills nine people

At least nine people were killed by a huge fire that ripped through an apartment block in an affluent district of Spain's third largest city, Valencia, authorities said on Friday. The blaze, fanned by strong winds, engulfed the block in Valencia's El Campanar district within half an hour on Thursday evening, witnesses said.

US intercepts small balloon over Utah, determines it's not a threat

The U.S. military intercepted a small balloon over the state of Utah on Friday and determined that it posed no threat to civil aviation or to national security, a U.S. official told Reuters. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the balloon also was incapable of maneuvering itself as it traveled at an altitude of between 43,000 and 45,000 feet (13,100 and 13,700 meters). The official did not offer further details about the balloon, including whether it might have been a simple hobby balloon.

Netanyahu's post-war plan sees Israel keeping security control over Palestinian areas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presented his first official "day after" plan for the Gaza Strip once the war ends, saying Israel will keep security control over Palestinian areas and make reconstruction dependent on demilitarisation. The plan, which brings together a range of well-established Israeli positions, underlines Netanyahu's resistance to the creation of a Palestinian state which he sees as a security threat, without explicitly ruling one out at some future stage.

Police beatings of pro-Palestinian schoolchildren spark outrage in Italy

Footage of police beating pro-Palestinian students drew broad condemnation in Italy on Friday, with the opposition calling for the interior minister to address parliament over the episode. Student marches were blocked by police in the Tuscan cities of Florence and Pisa, with images of officers vigorously using their truncheons on school-age protesters in Pisa triggering outrage on social media and from politicians.

Ukraine's defences under strain as war enters its third year

Ukraine marks the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion on Saturday looking more vulnerable than at any time since the early days of Europe's most deadly conflict since World War Two. The former Soviet republic's 40 million people defied expectations - and the Kremlin's best-laid plans - by repelling a much larger enemy and preventing outright defeat in the days and weeks after Russian tanks and soldiers rolled towards Kyiv.

US targets Russia with hundreds of sanctions over Ukraine war, Navalny death

The United States on Friday imposed extensive sanctions against Russia, targeting more than 500 people and entities to mark the second anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and retaliate for the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. President Joe Biden said the measures aim to ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin "pays an even steeper price for his aggression abroad and repression at home."

French farmers prepare tough welcome for Macron at farm show

French farmers were back on the streets of Paris on Friday, warning President Emmanuel Macron that he should expect a difficult welcome when he opens a major farm show on Saturday, amid anger over costs, red tape and green regulations. Dozens of tractors rolled into the French capital, loudly honking their horns. One tractor carried a sign that read: "Macron you're sowing the seeds for a storm - be careful of what you reap."

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