Putin spurns Zelenskyy meeting but lower-level Ukraine-Russia talks are still on

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct peace talks in three years, but hopes for a breakthrough remained dim after Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face in Turkey. Zelenskyy said he’s sending a team to Istanbul to meet a Russian delegation, even though Moscow’s side doesn’t include “anyone who actually makes decisions.” Few had expected Putin to show up in Turkey, and it punctured any hope of progress on ending the 3-year-old war that was given a push in recent months by the Trump administration and Western European leaders. It also raised the prospect of intensified international Western sanctions on Russia.

54 people killed in overnight airstrikes on southern Gaza city, hospital says

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — A hospital in southern Gaza says 54 people have been killed in overnight airstrikes on the city of Khan Younis. Another airstrike in the north of the Palestinian territory left more than a dozen people dead. An Associated Press cameraman counted 10 airstrikes on the city overnight into Thursday and saw numerous bodies taken to the morgue in Nasser Hospital. The strikes come as U.S. President Donald Trump visits the Middle East, visiting Gulf states but not Israel. There had been hope that Trump’s regional visit could usher in a ceasefire or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Poland votes for a new president Sunday as worries grow about the future

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Voters in Poland will cast ballots Sunday in a presidential election to choose a successor to conservative incumbent Andrzej Duda. There are 13 candidates and a runoff on June 1 is expected. Polls point to a showdown between the liberal mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, and Karol Nawrocki, a historian backed by the national conservative Law and Justice party. The campaign has been dominated by security concerns. War continues across the border in Ukraine. There are doubts about the U.S. commitment to Europe’s security, and fears about Russian interference in a region once under Soviet control.

Trump says the US and Iran have ‘sort of’ agreed on the terms for a nuclear deal

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump says the United States and Iran have “sort of” agreed to terms on a nuclear deal. Trump describes the talks between his diplomatic envoy and Iran’s foreign minister as “very serious negotiations” for “long-term peace” and said the talks are continuing to progress. Still, throughout his visit with Arab Gulf leaders this week, the president has underscored that military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities remains a possibility if the talks derail. Trump also stopped Thursday at a U.S. military installation in Qatar that’s at the center of American involvement in the Middle East.