Reuters World News Summary

Patel said he could not comment on why Lazzarini was denied entry, after UNRWA and Egypt said Israel had denied the head of the refugee agency entry to the Gaza Strip on Monday. US to lift Afghan visa limit under Biden, Congress deal U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has reached a compromise deal with Republicans in House of Representatives to lift the number of resettlement visas for Afghans who worked for the United States, U.S. lawmakers said on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Collision with NASA spacecraft altered shape of asteroid Dimorphos

When NASA sent its DART spacecraft to slam into the asteroid Dimorphos in 2022, the U.S. space agency demonstrated that it was possible to change a celestial object's trajectory, if needed, to protect Earth. It turns out that this collision changed not only the asteroid's path but its shape as well. The asteroid, which before the DART encounter looked like a ball that was a bit plump in the waist, now appears to be shaped more like a watermelon - or, technically, a triaxial ellipsoid, scientists said on Tuesday.

Trump says he would take 'appropriate action' over Prince Harry visa question

Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said if Prince Harry lied on his visa application about drug-taking Trump would seek to take "appropriate action" if he won November's presidential election, declining to rule out Harry leaving the United States. Trump's comments to British right-leaning media outlet GB News came in an interview with presenter and frequent Harry critic Nigel Farage.

Netanyahu spurns Biden plea to call off Rafah assault in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spurned a plea from Joe Biden to call off a planned ground assault of Rafah, the last refuge in Gaza for more than a million displaced people, where Israel believes Hamas militants are holed up. Netanyahu told lawmakers on Tuesday he had made it "supremely clear" to the U.S. president "that we are determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah, and there's no way to do that except by going in on the ground".

In Gaza, starving children fill hospital wards as famine looms

Six-year-old Fadi al-Zant is acutely malnourished, his ribs protruding under leathery skin, his eyes sunken as he lays in bed at the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, where famine is bearing down. Fadi's spindly legs can no longer support him enough to walk.

Trump draws ire for saying Jews who vote for Democrats hate their religion, Israel

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump drew outrage from the White House, Democrats and leaders of Jewish groups for saying Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats hate their religion and Israel. "Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion, they hate everything about Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves," said Trump, who hopes to unseat President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the Nov. 5 U.S. election.

UNRWA chief should be able to visit operations in Gaza, US State Dept says

The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) head Philippe Lazzarini and U.N. staff should be able to visit the agency's fields of operation, including in Gaza, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters on Tuesday. Patel said he could not comment on why Lazzarini was denied entry, after UNRWA and Egypt said Israel had denied the head of the refugee agency entry to the Gaza Strip on Monday.

US to lift Afghan visa limit under Biden, Congress deal

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has reached a compromise deal with Republicans in House of Representatives to lift the number of resettlement visas for Afghans who worked for the United States, U.S. lawmakers said on Tuesday. The congressionally-authorized limit of 38,500 Special Immigration Visas (SIVs), which offer a path to U.S. citizenship, had been expected to be reached sometime around the August anniversary of the 2021 U.S. troop withdrawal.

US Air Force says it conducted successful hypersonic weapon test

The U.S. Air Force said on Tuesday it had conducted a successful test of an air-launched hypersonic weapon in the Pacific Ocean. The test was conducted on Sunday after a B-52 bomber left the island of Guam carrying an Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), the Air Force said in a statement.

UN official protesting Gaza conflict alleges assault by security at headquarters

A senior United Nations official who has been on a hunger strike in support of child victims of the Israel-Hamas conflict alleges he was assaulted by the organisation's security at its New York headquarters, an account the global body disputes. A United Nations spokesperson said the official fell while forcibly resisting an attempt to remove him from the premises after he was refused permission to demonstrate there.

Trump again conditions US help to NATO allies on their paying 'fair share'

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reiterated that the United States would only help protect NATO members from a future attack by Russia if its European members spent more on defense. In an interview with Britain's right-leaning GB News that was released on Tuesday, Trump repeated remarks that triggered an uproar both at home and abroad last month. He told a campaign rally that he would encourage Russia "to do whatever the hell they want" to a NATO member if it wasn't spending enough on defense.

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