Reuters World News Summary

The protesters were among several thousand opponents of the bill who heeded a call from Georgia's opposition to stage an all-night protest outside parliament with the intention of preventing lawmakers from entering the building on Monday. 'Trust me', UK's Sunak appeals to voters before national election British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called on voters on Monday to trust him to keep them safe in an increasingly dangerous world, listing his achievements in an unashamedly political campaign speech ahead of a national election due at some point this year.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Argentina ramps up pressure on Venezuela over opposition embassy refugees

Argentina's government is set to ramp up pressure on Venezuela to grant safe passage to six opposition aides who had sought refuge in its embassy in Caracas, official sources said, adding they were at physical risk if they didn't leave the country. Two senior Argentine officials told Reuters last week that the administration of President Nicolas Maduro, who has looked to head off political rivals ahead of July presidential elections, had reneged on promises to allow the six to safely leave the country.

Tunisia extends the detention of two journalists, lawyers begin a strike

Tunisia's public prosecutor extended on Monday the detention of two journalists, while lawyers began a one-day strike to protest against the arrest of a prominent critic of the president, amid a growing political crisis in the country. Tunisian police stormed the building of the deanship of lawyers on Saturday and arrested Sonia Dahmani, a lawyer known for her fierce criticism of President Kais Saied.

Floods kill 43 in Indonesia's West Sumatra, 15 missing

Flash floods and mud slides in Indonesia's West Sumatra province killed at least 43 people over the weekend while a search for 15 missing people continued, authorities said on Monday. Torrential rain on Saturday evening triggered flash floods, landslides, and cold lava flow - a mud-like mixture of volcanic ash, rock debris and water - in three districts in West Sumatra province, Abdul Malik, chief of the provincial rescue team, told Reuters.

Russia widens Kharkiv front in Ukraine with small assault groups, governor says

Russia pressed its ground assault into Ukraine's Kharkiv region on Monday, attacking new areas with small groups to try to widen the front and stretch Ukraine's forces, the regional governor said. Moscow's troops entered Ukraine near its second city, Kharkiv, on Friday, opening a new, northeastern front in a warthat has for almost two years been largely fought in the east and south. The advance could draw some of Kyiv's depleted forces away from the east, where Russia has been slowly advancing.

India's election enters fourth phase as rhetoric over religion, inequality sharpens

India voted on Monday in the fourth phase of a seven-week long general election, as campaign rhetoric became more strident over economic disparities and religious divisions.

The world's most populous nation began voting on April 19 in a seven-phase election in which nearly one billion people are eligible to vote, with ballots set to be counted on June 4.

Israeli forces push into Gaza from north and south

Israeli forces pushed deep into the ruins of Gaza's northern edge on Monday to recapture an area where they had claimed to have defeated Hamas months ago, while at the opposite end of the enclave, tanks and troops pushed across a highway into Rafah. With some of the most intense fighting for weeks now taking place on both the northern and southern edges of Gaza, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have again taken flight, and aid groups warn that a humanitarian crisis could sharply worsen.

China denies Philippine report of "artificial island" in disputed waters

The Philippines said on Monday that it would keep a closer guard on reefs, shoals and islets in its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, as China denied accusations of trying to build an artificial island in the disputed waters. The Philippine Coast Guard said on Saturday it had deployed a ship to Sabina Shoal on the Spratly archipelago, where it accused China of building an artificial island, having documented what it said were piles of dead and crushed coral on the sandbars.

Two Americans, one Russian citizen among 20 detained in Georgia, says ministry

Two U.S. citizens and one Russian were among 20 people detained at protests in Tbilisi while Georgian lawmakers were debating a "foreign agents" bill that has sparked a political crisis, the interior ministry said on Monday. The protesters were among several thousand opponents of the bill who heeded a call from Georgia's opposition to stage an all-night protest outside parliament with the intention of preventing lawmakers from entering the building on Monday.

'Trust me', UK's Sunak appeals to voters before national election

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called on voters on Monday to trust him to keep them safe in an increasingly dangerous world, listing his achievements in an unashamedly political campaign speech ahead of a national election due at some point this year. With his governing Conservatives trailing the opposition Labour Party in the polls, Sunak used a speech at a conservative think tank to try to convince voters that only he could defend the country against an "axis of authoritarian states".

Putin taps economist to run defence, replacing Shoigu in unexpected move

Russian President Vladimir Putin tapped a civilian economist as his surprise new defence minister on Sunday in an attempt to gird Russia for economic war by trying to better utilise the defence budget and harness greater innovation to win in Ukraine. More than two years into the conflict, which has cost both sides heavy casualties, Putin proposed Andrei Belousov, a 65-year-old former deputy prime minister who specialises in economics, to replace his long-term ally, Sergei Shoigu, 68, as defence minister.

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