Russian bombs kill 17 in Ukrainian penal colony
A Russian bomb attack on a penal colony in southeastern Ukraine killed 17 people overnight, officials said, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would shorten a deadline for Vladimir Putin to make peace, Reuters reported.
Dozens more were wounded in the attack on the front-line Zaporizhzhia region, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who described the bombing as "deliberate".
"And this was done after a completely clear position was voiced by the United States."
Zelenskiy added that a total of 22 people were killed in overnight strikes by Russia, including a 23-year-old pregnant woman who died in a missile strike on a hospital in another southeastern region, according to Reuters.
Trump administration slashed federal funding for gun violence prevention
The Trump administration has terminated more than half of all federal funding for gun violence prevention programs in the U.S., cutting $158 million in grants that had been directed to groups in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Baltimore, Reuters reported.
Of the 145 community violence intervention (CVI) grants totaling more than $300 million awarded through the U.S. Department of Justice, 69 grants were abruptly terminated, opens new tab in April, according to government data analyzed by Reuters.
The elimination of CVI programs is part of a broader rollback at the department's grant-issuing Office of Justice Programs, which terminated 365 grants valued at $811 million in April, impacting a range of public safety and victim services programs.
A DOJ official told Reuters the gun violence grants were eliminated because they "no longer effectuate the program's goals or agency's priorities." Thousands of Office of Justice Programs grants are under review, the official said, and are being evaluated, among other things, on how well they support law enforcement and combat violent crime.
US, China resume talks in Stockholm to ease tariff hostilities
U.S. and Chinese officials began a second day of talks in Stockholm on Tuesday to resolve longstanding economic disputes and step back from an escalating trade war between the world's two biggest economies, Reuters reported.
The meetings may not yield immediate large breakthroughs but the two sides could agree to another 90-day extension of a tariff truce struck in mid-May. It may also pave the way for a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the year, though Trump on Tuesday denied going out of his way to seek one.
The delegations met for more than five hours on Monday at Rosenbad, the Swedish prime minister's office in central Stockholm.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was seen arriving at Rosenbad on Tuesday morning after a separate meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. China's Vice Premier He Lifeng also arrived at the venue, according to Reuters.
UK PM calls emergency meeting on Gaza crisis
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will hold an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss a Gaza peace plan and aid response, amid rising pressure to recognize Palestinian statehood.
Aid groups warn Gaza is on the brink of mass starvation, especially among children, and say Israel’s current measures are insufficient. US President Donald Trump has acknowledged “real starvation” in the region, while Israel denies responsibility, BBC reported.
Agencies are urging Israel to fully open border crossings and ensure safe passage for aid convoys.
