US holds separate talks with Russians after meeting Ukrainians

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. negotiators are working with Russian representatives on a proposed partial ceasefire in Ukraine. Monday’s meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, came a day after the U.S. held separate talks with the Ukrainian team. Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of undermining efforts to reach a pause in the 3-year-old war. Both countries agreed in principle Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with their leaders. A major sticking point is what targets would be off-limits to strike. While the White House said “energy and infrastructure” would be covered, the Kremlin declared the agreement referred more narrowly to “energy infrastructure.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he wants to see railways and ports protected.

Philippine defense chief calls China’s claims in the South China Sea ‘the biggest fiction and lie’

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine defense chief has called China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea as “the biggest fiction and lie” that no Southeast Asian country will accept. The Philippine defense secretary also said Monday that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s aggressive policies have undermined the international goodwill fostered by his predecessors. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro fired off his latest tirade against China’s increasingly assertive actions in the region on the same day the Philippine coast guard separately reported new aggressive actions by Chinese forces in the Scarborough Shoal. The hotly disputed fishing atoll is the disputed South China Sea.

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo reinstated as acting president

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has been reinstated as the acting president as the Constitutional Court overturned his impeachment. Han, South Korea’s No. 2 official, had become acting leader after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached over his imposition of martial law in December. Han thanked the court after Monday’s ruling and said he would attend to urgent matters. He also called for national unity. The court ruled 7-1 that Parliament didn’t have a quorum to pass the impeachment motion, that the accusations against Han weren’t against the law or that they weren’t serious enough to remove him from office. Many experts said the ruling on Han didn’t signal how the court would rule on Yoon’s impeachment.

UN to reduce staff in Gaza and blames Israel for a strike that killed its employee

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The United Nations has said it will “reduce its footprint” in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli tank strike hit one of its compounds last week, killing one staffer and wounding five others. Israel has denied it was behind the March 19 explosion at the U.N. guesthouse in central Gaza. In a statement Monday, U.N. Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said that “based on the information currently available,” the strikes on the site “were caused by an Israeli tank.” He said the U.N. “has made taken the difficult decision to reduce the Organization’s footprint in Gaza, even as humanitarian needs soar.” He said the U.N. “is not leaving Gaza” but did not give details on the impact of the decision.