Reuters World News Summary

In a 68-minute address to Congress, Biden, a Democrat, drew sharp contrasts with his Republican rival and gamely challenged Trump's supporters in the chamber during a speech that was watched as much for the 81-year-old president's performance as it was for his policy proposals. North Korea's Kim guides artillery firing drill in range of Seoul North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided an artillery firing drill by the Korean People's Army, the country's military force, state media KCNA reported on Friday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

India's Modi pledges $15 billion spending splurge as elections near

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved $15 billion worth of infrastructure projects in the last week as he bolsters support days before the schedule for national elections is to be announced, but the opposition Congress party was unimpressed. Between Monday and Wednesday, Modi visited the southern states of Telangana and Tamil Nadu and the eastern states of Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar, where he announced projects he hopes will help lift India from the world's fifth-largest economy to the third. He visits Assam on Saturday.

Israeli settlements expand by record amount, UN rights chief says

Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories have expanded by a record amount and risk eliminating any practical possibly of a Palestinian state, the U.N. human rights chief said on Friday. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said that the growth of Israeli settlements amounted to the transfer by Israel of its own population, which he reiterated was a war crime. The U.S. Biden administration said last month the settlements were "inconsistent" with international law after Israel announced new housing plans in the occupied West Bank.

Biden takes on Trump and Republicans in fiery State of the Union speech

President Joe Biden on Thursday laid out his case for re-election in a fiery State of the Union speech that accused Donald Trump of threatening democracy, kowtowing to Russia and torpedoing a bill to tackle U.S. immigration woes. In a 68-minute address to Congress, Biden, a Democrat, drew sharp contrasts with his Republican rival and gamely challenged Trump's supporters in the chamber during a speech that was watched as much for the 81-year-old president's performance as it was for his policy proposals.

North Korea's Kim guides artillery firing drill in range of Seoul

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided an artillery firing drill by the Korean People's Army, the country's military force, state media KCNA reported on Friday. The drill, carried out on Thursday, involved units near the border that are in firing range of "the enemy's capital," KCNA said, referring to the South Korean capital of nearly 10 million residents and added it "fulfilled important military missions for war deterrence".

EU sees maritime aid corridor to Gaza opening this weekend amid famine fears

The head of the European Commission said on Friday a maritime aid corridor could start operating between Cyprus and Gaza this weekend, part of accelerating Western efforts to relieve the humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave. Ursula von der Leyen's comments came a day after President Joe Biden announced plans for the U.S. military to build a temporary port on Gaza's Mediterranean coast, amid U.N. warnings of famine among the tiny territory's 2.3 million people.

U.S. embassy warns of imminent attack in Moscow by 'extremists'

The U.S. embassy in Russia warned that "extremists" had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow, hours after Russian security services said they had foiled a planned shooting at a synagogue by a cell from the Afghan arm of Islamic State. The embassy, which has repeatedly urged all U.S. citizens to leave Russia immediately, gave no further details about the nature of the threat, but said people should avoid concerts and crowds and be aware of their surroundings.

'Generation Putin' - young Russians reflect on his 24 years in power

Zaurbek, 27, sees President Vladimir Putin as the guarantor of Russia's stability. Egor, 18, says bluntly that Russia's leaders are "unworthy". What both have in common is that neither can remember a time when Putin, in power since the last day of 1999, was not in charge of Russia as president or prime minister.

India says it uncovers trafficking racket duping people into fighting for Russia in Ukraine

India said it had uncovered a "major human trafficking network" which lured young men to Russia with the promise of jobs only to force them to fight in the war in Ukraine. About 35 men have been sent to Russia in the scheme so far, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said late on Thursday, an increase from the 20 men that the Indian foreign ministry had earlier mentioned.

Son of Flight MH370 passenger conflicted over honouring the dead

Every spring, China observes the Qingming tomb-sweeping festival, where families visit and clean the graves of their ancestors, making ritual offerings and paying respects. But for Chinese national Jiang Hui, 50, Qingming presents a dilemma: how to honour his mother, Jiang Cui Yun, who vanished 10 years ago aboard missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

Ukraine presses peace plan, points to N. Korean involvement in talks with Chinese envoy

Senior Ukrainian officials, in a meeting with a Chinese regional envoy on Thursday, pressed Kyiv's plan to end the two-year conflict with Russia and presented what they said was evidence of North Korean weaponry supplied to Moscow. Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's presidential administration, wrote on Telegram that he and his team presented the situation on the battlefield and Kyiv's peace proposals to Li Hui, China's special representative for Eurasian affairs.

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