World News Briefs: Fires, Summits, and International Strife

A summary of recent world news includes a deadly fire in Kuwait, President Biden attending the G7 summit, UN reports on war crimes in Gaza, challenges to the U.S. Supreme Court, disputes over UK-Rwanda asylum policies, and North Korea's strengthening ties with Russia.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Fire in Kuwaiti building housing workers kills 41, deputy PM says

A fire that broke out in a building housing workers in the city of Mangaf in southern Kuwait early on Wednesday has killed at least 41 people, the country's deputy prime minister Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Saud Al-Sabah said during a visit to the site. The deputy PM accused real estate owners of violations and greed, saying those factors contributed towards the incident.

Biden heads to G7 summit focused on Ukraine aid, China's support for Russia

U.S. President Joe Biden flies to Italy on Wednesday for meetings with Group of Seven leaders aimed at increasing pressure on Russia over its war against Ukraine and China for its support of Moscow and excess industrial capacity. The G7 leaders arrive at the summit confronting myriad woes at home even as they seek solutions for many of the world's most pressing problems.

UN says Israel and Hamas committed war crimes; Gaza truce plan in balance

A U.N. inquiry found on Wednesday that both Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes early in the Gaza war, and that Israel's actions also constituted crimes against humanity because of the immense civilian losses. The findings were from two parallel reports by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI), one focusing on the Oct. 7 attacks and another on Israel's response.

Explosive cases flow to US Supreme Court from 'bold' regional court

When three conservative judges sitting on a New Orleans-based U.S. appeals court declared the funding mechanism approved by Congress for the federal consumer financial watchdog agency unconstitutional, they said the nation's history of separating powers among the branches of government compelled their ruling. It turns out these judges - all appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump - got the history wrong, the U.S. Supreme Court decided on May 16 in a 7-2 decision authored by conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, saving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from an existential threat.

Rwanda says UN refugee agency lying in British asylum policy case

Rwanda said the U.N. refugee agency had lied when the organisation told a British court this week that asylum seekers sent to the East African country could be moved on again to states where they risked torture or death. Lawyers representing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told the court on Monday that Rwanda's asylum system was inadequate, as part of a challenge to the British government's policy to deport asylum seekers there.

Russian air attacks cause industrial facility fire in Kyiv region, injure several

Russia launched missile and drone attacks on Ukraine early on Wednesday, causing a fire at an industrial facility, damaging residences and injuring several people across six regions, local authorities said. Ukrainian military said it shot down five out of six missiles and all 24 drones launched during Russia's overnight attack.

'Immense' scale of Gaza killings amount to crime against humanity, UN inquiry says

Both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes in the early stages of the Gaza war, a U.N. inquiry found on Wednesday, saying that Israel's actions also constituted crimes against humanity because of the immense civilian losses. The findings were from two parallel reports, one focusing on the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and another on Israel's military response, published by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI), which has an unusually broad mandate to collect evidence and identify perpetrators of international crimes committed in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

France's Macron asks rivals to join electoral pact against far right

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday urged rival parties on both sides of the political centre to join him in forging a democratic alliance against Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) in an upcoming snap legislative election. In what amounted to a campaign speech just days after he upended French politics by calling the election, Macron acknowledged making mistakes, saying people had expressed their indignation but felt they were not being heard.

Hong Kong uses new national security law against exiled activists

Hong Kong's Security Bureau said on Wednesday it would use powers in a new national security law against six self-exiled activists residing in Britain, including cancelling their passports, after they fled the China-ruled city. The six are Nathan Law, Christopher Mung Siu-tat, Finn Lau, Simon Cheng, Johnny Fok Ka-chi and Tony Choi Ming-da. City authorities put them on a wanted list last year.

North Korea's Kim boasts of 'invincible' ties with Russia amid talks of Putin visit

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said his country is an "invincible comrade-in-arms" with Russia in a message to President Vladimir Putin, state media KCNA said on Wednesday, amid speculation over Putin's impending visit to North Korea. Marking Russia's National Day, Kim said his meeting with Putin at a Russian space launch facility last year elevated the ties of their "century-old strategic relationship".

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