Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia hits Ukraine with Oreshnik missile in one of war's biggest attacks on Kyiv

Russia pounded Kyiv and surrounding areas with hundreds of drones and missiles on Sunday in one of the heaviest bombardments ​of the city since the start of the four-year war, firing an Oreshnik hypersonic missile near the capital. Russia's hours-long overnight barrage killed two people in Kyiv and ​two more in the surrounding area, and it wounded nearly 100, according to Ukrainian officials. Authorities said dozens ‌of residential buildings ​and several schools had been damaged, many in the centre of Kyiv.

Trump talks up his ballroom plan dozens of times but plays down Americans' economic pain

Standing in front of the White House ballroom construction site, U.S. President Donald Trump appealed for patience from Americans struggling with soaring gas prices as he sought to justify the cost of a project critics call a vanity effort. "This is peanuts," he said on Tuesday in an apparent reference to the economic damage inflicted on the U.S. by the Iran war. "I appreciate everybody putting up with ‌it for a little while. It won't be much longer."

Trump says there is no rush for Iran deal, US blockade stays

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had told his representatives not to rush into any deal with Iran, as his administration played down hopes of an imminent breakthrough in the three-month-old war that had been raised a day earlier. The U.S. blockade on Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz would "remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Both sides must take their time and get it right," he added.

Benin's Wadagni takes office, vows better living standards, security

Benin's new president, Romuald Wadagni, vowed at his inauguration on Sunday to confront rising security threats and to ensure ‌economic growth translated into concrete improvements in people's lives. Wadagni was elected on April 12 with more than 94% of the vote against challenger Paul Hounkpe, according to results confirmed on Sunday by the Constitutional Court.

Suspect dies after trading gunfire with officers near White House, Secret Service says

A gunman who fired at a White House checkpoint was shot by officers ‌and died after being taken to the hospital on Saturday evening, the Secret Service said. The man approached the checkpoint at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House, pulled a gun out of his bag and started shooting at officers, according to a Secret Service statement sent to Reuters. Officers returned fire and shot the suspect, the agency said.

Chinese ship leaves after tense standoff near Taiwan-controlled islands

A Chinese coast guard ship left waters near Taiwan's strategically located Pratas Islands at the top of the South China Sea on Sunday following a tense standoff and verbal sparring between the coast guards, Taiwan's Coast Guard said. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a position the government in Taipei rejects.

At least 24 killed in Pakistan train blast claimed by separatist militants

A bomb blast hit a shuttle train carrying Pakistani security personnel and their families in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Sunday, officials said, ⁠in the latest major attack ​claimed by separatist militants. The explosion killed at least 24 people and injured around 70, according to three ⁠provincial government and security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Three dead and 17 missing after flooding in China's Chongqing

The death toll has risen to three with 17 missing following flooding in the Chongqing municipality of southwestern China, China's state-run Xinhua reported. That was as of 2:30 pm (0630 GMT) on Sunday, after Chongqing's Yongchuan district was hit with sudden extreme rainfall from Saturday night through ⁠the early hours of Sunday, Xinhua said.

New Zealand tightens English standards, widens philanthropy options for visas

New Zealand will tighten English language rules for mid-skilled work visa applicants while expanding philanthropy options for investor migrants, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said on Monday. The changes, effective from June 1, cover the Accredited Employer Work Visa and the Active Investor Plus Visa Growth category. The government is also preparing to introduce two new skilled residence pathways ​in August.

Turkish police force ousted opposition out of headquarters as crisis deepens

Turkish riot police fired tear gas and forced their way into the main opposition party's headquarters to evict its ousted leadership on Sunday, fuelling a crisis at the heart of Turkey's democracy. Clouds of tear gas billowed within the Republican People's Party (CHP) building while those ⁠inside shouted and threw objects at the entrance as police broke through a makeshift barricade. There were no reports of injuries during the intervention.

Nigeria's Tinubu to run for second term after party primary win

Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu will seek a second and final four-year term in January after overwhelmingly defeating a little-known challenger in ruling party primaries, results showed on Sunday. The ruling All Progressives Congress party held its presidential primaries on Saturday after a surprise candidate, Stanley Osifo, challenged Tinubu.

China sends ⁠astronaut ​on year-long space mission as it eyes 2030 moon landing

China sent three astronauts to its space station on Sunday, one of whom will stay for a year, a record length for the country, enabling the study of long-duration human physiology in space as Beijing works towards its ambition of a crewed moon landing by 2030. The Shenzhou-23 vessel launched at 11:08 p.m. (1508 GMT) using the Long March-2F Y23 carrier rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, with three Chinese astronauts on board.

Ukraine says it hit oil pumping station in Russia's Vladimir region

Ukraine's SBU security service said its drones attacked an oil pumping dispatch station in Russia's Vladimir region on Sunday, adding that the facility was an important node in pumping oil products southwest to ⁠Moscow and its surrounding area. "It supplies fuel to major oil depots around Moscow and to Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Vnukovo airports," the SBU said in a statement on social media. It added that a fire over an area spanning 800 square metres (8,600 square feet) was recorded after the strike.

At least one dead in Philippine building collapse, 21 people missing

At least one ⁠person was confirmed dead after a building under construction collapsed in the Philippines on Sunday, authorities said, ⁠as rescuers scoured the rubble for 21 people listed as missing. Officials said an investigation had been launched into what caused the collapse of the multi-storey building in the city of Angeles, north of the capital, Manila.

Possible deal on Iran divides US lawmakers largely along party lines

U.S. lawmakers appearing on Sunday morning talk shows split sharply over a potential deal to end the Iran war, with Republicans mostly backing the publicly reported contours of an agreement being negotiated by President Donald Trump and Democrats dismissing it as accomplishing little. Senator Chris Van Hollen, a ‌Maryland Democrat and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, ‌said the reported outlines of a deal sounded like little more than "the pre-war status quo" with Iran. "I think this was a blunder," Van Hollen said on the "Fox News Sunday" program. "When you're digging ​a hole, you should stop digging, and that sounds like maybe what we're doing finally."

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