G7 finance chiefs are not expected to agree on details of a loan for Ukraine at their meeting in Italy starting.

Israeli forces killed at least 50 Palestinians in aerial and ground bombardments across the Gaza Strip and battled in close combat with Hamas-led militants in areas of the southern city of Rafah, health officials and Hamas media said.

President Ebrahim Raisi was buried in the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as many thousands of mourners packed its streets for his funeral, four days after he died in a helicopter crash, footage broadcast by Iranian media showed.

Russia pounded Kharkiv with missiles, killing seven people in a printing house, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called out his western allies for not providing enough military support to rebuff Russian attacks.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Europe needs closer military collaboration.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on a visit to New Caledonia that inequalities had widened on the French-ruled Pacific archipelago and were a driving force in the deadly civil unrest that broke out last week.

The United Nations has resumed transporting humanitarian aid arriving at a U.S.-built pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip after deliveries were halted for two days because some truckloads of aid were intercepted by needy Palestinians.

French President Emmanuel Macron said after a day of talks in New Caledonia that he would delay a voting reform that had triggered deadly riots on the French-ruled Pacific island, and try to seek a new political agreement.

Iran’s Supreme Leader led prayers in Tehran on Wednesday at the funeral of President Ebrahim Raisi as the clerical establishment hurried to organise the election of a successor, which could further erode its legitimacy amid growing public discontent.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a national election on Wednesday for July 4, saying Britons would be able to choose their future in a vote his Conservatives are widely expected to lose to the opposition Labour Party after 14 years in power.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy issued a fresh plea on Wednesday for upgraded defence systems to protect Ukraine’s cities against guided bombs, which he described as the “the main instrument” now used by Moscow in its attacks.

French President Emmanuel Macron landed in the Pacific island of New Caledonia on Thursday, for a day of talks during which he will aim to turn the page on deadly riots triggered by a contested electoral reform.