World News at a Glance

Netanyahu Should Be Charged With Bribery and Fraud, Israeli Police Say

Israeli police recommended on Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The announcement instantly raised doubts about his ability to stay in office. Concluding a yearlong graft investigation, the police recommended that Netanyahu face prosecution in two corruption cases: a gifts-for-favors affair known as Case 1000, and a second scandal, called Case 2000, in which Netanyahu is suspected of back-room dealings with Arnon Mozes, publisher of the popular newspaper Yediot Aharonot, to ensure more favorable coverage. All told, the police accused Netanyahu of accepting nearly $300,000 in gifts over 10 years.

Dozens of Russians May Have Perished in Syrian Battle

Four Russian nationals, and perhaps dozens more, were killed in fighting between pro-government forces in eastern Syria and members of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State, according to Russian and Syrian officials. A Syrian military officer said that about 100 Syrian soldiers had been killed in the fighting on Feb. 7 and 8, but news about Russian casualties has dribbled out only slowly. Much about the attack and the associated casualties has been obscured in the fog of war. For reasons that remain unclear, Syrian government troops and some Russian nationals appear to have attacked a coalition position, near Al Tabiyeh, Syria.

Floods, Disease Threaten Rohingya Refugees

Rohingya refugees who have fled ethnic violence in Myanmar are at risk of “a humanitarian crisis within the crisis” as the impending monsoon season threatens to flood camps and fuel the spread of disease, diplomats at the U.N.Security Council warned Tuesday. More than 100,000 refugees living in makeshift camps in Bangladesh are in areas prone to flooding and landslides, and tens of thousands will have to be relocated before the monsoons hit in March, said Filippo Grandi, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. The Rohingya, a long-persecuted Muslim minority predominantly in western Myanmar, continue to flee their homes.

Iraq Wants $88 Billion for Rebuilding

Devastated by a war with Islamic State extremists that razed its cities and left millions homeless, Iraq has asked affluent allies led by the United States for $88 billion to rebuild. They are basically saying no. An Iraq fundraising conference in Kuwait attended by dozens of potential donors was headed for failure Tuesday, with barely $4 billion pledged — none from the United States. While the conference does not end until Wednesday, the message was clear: President Donald Trump is leaving nation-building to others, and they are barely responding. It was a humiliating blow for the Iraqi government.

Youth Soccer Coach Is Convicted of Sex Abuse

In a child sex abuse scandal that has rocked English soccer, a former youth coach and talent scout who worked for a number of teams was convicted Tuesday of 36 counts of sexually assaulting boys aged 8 to 15, from 1979 to 1990. The case against the former coach, Barry Bennell, began in 2016, when Andrew Woodward became the first professional player to say publicly that he had been molested by a coach, accusing Bennell. But the scandal widened, as other allegations were made against Bennell and then other coaches and scouts, until those stepping forward numbered in the hundreds.

Pakistani Taliban Says Its Deputy Leader Was Killed

The Pakistani Taliban have confirmed the death of their deputy commander in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan last week. The commander’s death is a blow to the militant group that has been responsible for deadly suicide bombings and terrorist attacks in the country for more than a decade. The commander, Khan Sayed, who also went by the name Khalid Sajna, was the No. 2 leader of the Pakistan Taliban. He also led his own breakaway faction of fighters from the Mehsud tribe, which inhabits the rugged, semiautonomous South Waziristan region along the border with Afghanistan.

Friend of Ousted South Korean Leader Sentenced

A South Korean woman at the center of the influence-peddling scandal that brought down President Park Geun-hye last year was convicted of bribery, extortion and other criminal charges Tuesday and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The woman, Choi Soon-sil, was a longtime friend and confidante of Park, whose own trial began in May. Choi was arrested and indicted in late 2016 on charges of conspiring with the president to collect or demand $52 million in bribes from large South Korean businesses. Separately, she and Park were accused of coercing businesses into making donations. A three-judge panel convicted her on all of those charges.

Assange’s Arrest Warrant Is Upheld by UK Judge

A British judge upheld an arrest warrant for Julian Assange for the second time in a week Tuesday, a significant setback for him after 5 1/2 years of evading authorities by living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. In London, Senior District Judge Emma Arbuthnot rejected the arguments made by Assange’s lawyer, stating that he was not a prisoner, that his living conditions were nothing like those of a prison, and that he could have as many visitors as he liked. In fact, she said, he could — and should — walk free at any time to meet his legal fate.

ANC Tells Jacob Zuma to Step Down as South Africa’s President

Top leaders of South Africa’s governing party ordered President Jacob Zuma to step down Tuesday, saying that his continued presence was eroding the “renewed hope” felt since the election of new party leaders in December. Ace Magashule, secretary-general of the African National Congress, said that the party had not given Zuma a deadline to respond but added that he was certain that the president would deliver a reply the next day. The extraordinary confrontation between Zuma and ANC leaders heightened a power struggle within the party that has governed South Africa since the end of apartheid.