Reuters World News Summary

Ukraine forces control west of the now ruined and nearly deserted Bakhmut, while Russia's Wagner Group controls most of the eastern part, British intelligence said, with the Bakhmutka River that bisects the town marking the front line. 'A thin existence': man stranded in Turkey after being refused entry to Britain Stranded in Turkey since being barred from boarding a flight to Britain more than two months ago, Siyabonga Twala spent his 34th birthday on Saturday away from his son and family in an unfamiliar city.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy: More than 1,100 Russian dead in less than a week in Bakhmut

Russian forces suffered more than 1,100 dead in less than a week of battles near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the focal point of fighting in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday. "In less than a week, starting from 6th March, we managed to kill more than 1,100 enemy soldiers in the Bakhmut sector alone, Russia's irreversible loss, right there, near Bakhmut," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

Greeks rally over train crash, labour unions gear for more walkouts

Thousands of people rallied in central Athens on Sunday to protest over the country's deadliest train disaster that killed 57 people on Feb. 28, as Greece's largest labour unions geared up for a nationwide strike. The head-on collision of a passenger train with a freight train nearly two weeks ago has stirred public anger and daily protests against the conservative government and a political system that has repeatedly ignored calls by railway unions to improve safety systems.

Iran says it agrees prisoner swap with US, Washington denies claim

Iran and the United States have reached an agreement to exchange prisoners, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told state TV on Sunday, but Washington denied it as a "false" claim by Tehran. "Regarding the issue of prisoner swaps between Iran and the U.S. we have reached an agreement in the recent days and if everything goes well on the U.S. side, I think we will witness a prisoner exchange in a short period," Amirabdollahian said.

Saudi-Iran detente: a setback for Israel and wake-up call on US ties

The Saudi-Iran detente sets back Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to isolate Tehran, but time will tell whether it also hinders his outreach to Riyadh or planning for any eventual military strike against Iranian nuclear sites. The more pressing worry for Israel, some experts argue, is that Friday's Chinese-brokered deal between the top Sunni and Shi'ite Muslim powers suggests the United States is giving ground in the region just when the Netanyahu government needs it most.

North Korea launches missiles from submarine as US-South Korean drills begin

Nuclear-armed North Korea test-fired two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine on Sunday, state news agency KCNA said on Monday just as U.S.-South Korea military drills were due to begin. "Strategic" is typically used to describe weapons that have a nuclear capability.

Casualties in Donetsk mount as Russia, Ukraine fight for Bakhmut

Both Ukraine and Russia on Sunday reported high casualties in Ukraine's Donetsk region with the slow, long-lasting and bloody fight for the small town of Bakhmut continuing as Moscow presses to advance into its neighbour's territory. Ukraine forces control west of the now ruined and nearly deserted Bakhmut, while Russia's Wagner Group controls most of the eastern part, British intelligence said, with the Bakhmutka River that bisects the town marking the front line.

'A thin existence': man stranded in Turkey after being refused entry to Britain

Stranded in Turkey since being barred from boarding a flight to Britain more than two months ago, Siyabonga Twala spent his 34th birthday on Saturday away from his son and family in an unfamiliar city. Twala holds South African citizenship, has lived in the UK since 2004 and is father to a British son. But on Dec. 29, he and his parents, son and two siblings were flying back to Britain after a trip to South Africa when he was stopped from boarding the plane in Istanbul.

Boat capsizes off Madagascar on way to Mayotte, 22 killed - port authority

Twenty two people died when a boat carrying them off Madagascar capsized while they attempted to sail to the French island of Mayotte, Madagascar's port authority said on Sunday. The boat, which was carrying 47 people, capsized on Saturday in the seas off Ankazomborona in the north of Madagascar, the Maritime and River Port Agency said in a statement.

Nicaragua closes Vatican embassy in Managua, Nicaraguan embassy to Vatican - source

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has ordered the closure of the Vatican Embassy in Managua and that of the Nicaraguan Embassy to the Vatican in Rome, a senior Vatican source said on Sunday. Nicaragua signalled that the move, which came a few days after Pope Francis compared the Nicaraguan government to a dictatorship, was "a suspension" of diplomatic relations.

French union leader vows to keep fighting Macron's pension plan

French unions will keep on fighting against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plan despite the upper house of parliament approving the text on Saturday, a leader of one of the main unions said on Sunday. Laurent Berger, secretary general of France's largest union the CFDT, also warned Macron's government against forcing the parliament's hand by pushing the text through without a vote from MPs of the National Assembly, using a procedure known as 49:3 after the related article in the French constitution.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)