International news from Friday, May 16th, 2025

Ukraine rallied support from its Western allies on Friday after Kyiv and Moscow failed to agree to a ceasefire at their first direct talks in more than three years, with Russia presenting conditions that a Ukrainian source described as "non-starters".

The man who stabbed and partially blinded novelist Salman Rushdie onstage at a Western New York arts institute in 2022 has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for an attack that also wounded a second person, the district attorney said.

The World Bank on Friday said it had cleared Syria's $15.5 million in outstanding debt after receiving payments from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed more than 250 people since Thursday morning, local health authorities said on Friday, one of the deadliest phases of bombardment since a truce collapsed in March and with a new ground offensive expected soon.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Istanbul on Friday at their first direct peace talks in more than three years, under pressure from US President Donald Trump to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

An Indian climber and another from the Philippines became the first mountaineers to die on Mount Everest in the current March-May climbing season of the world's highest peak, hiking officials said on Friday.