Reuters World News Summary

A two-thirds majority of voting members in the 193-member General Assembly in New York - abstentions do not count - was needed to suspend Russia from the 47-member Geneva-based Human Rights Council. Zelenskiy says situation in second Ukraine town 'more dreadful' than Bucha Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on the Thursday that the situation in the town of Borodyanka was "significantly more dreadful" than in nearby Bucha, where Russian forces' suspected killings of civilians have been broadly condemned.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Death and defiance in a Bucha neighbourhood that was held by Russian troops

Set in a quiet, tree-lined neighbourhood of the Ukrainian town of Bucha, an apartment complex on Vodoprovidna street has neatly trimmed verges with pedestrian walkways. Number 34a Vodoprovidna is one of a clutch of modern apartment buildings that back on to a kindergarten. Residents are largely middle class: Vasyl Nedashkivskiy, who fitted PVC windows, lived on the fifth floor with his wife, Tetyana, and their dog, Nika. Another resident is a child psychologist and a third, Oleksii Tarasevich, a nanotechnology engineer. Russian soldiers arrived at the address just after midday on March 5, according to Tarasevich, who kept a diary and a video and photo record of what he saw from his apartment window. He shared the images and footage with Reuters, which verified they were taken during the relevant time period.

How the U.S. plans to starve Russia's 'war machine' -Treasury's Adeyemo to Reuters

The United States is ramping up sanctions against Russia to deprive Moscow's "war machine" of money and components needed to sustain its invasion of Ukraine, but curbing a main source of funding, Russian energy exports, will take time, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told Reuters on Thursday. The United States and its allies have "a lot more that we can and we will do" to punish Moscow if Russia fails to halt its invasion, Adeyemo told Reuters in an interview.

Kremlin says Russia has suffered 'significant losses' in Ukraine

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Russia had sustained "significant losses" in Ukraine, which its troops entered on Feb. 24 in what it calls a "special military operation". Russia's defence ministry said on March 25, its most recent update, that 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed since the start of the campaign, and 3,825 had been wounded.

Chinese national sentenced to U.S. prison after pleading guilty to stealing trade secrets

A Chinese national has been sentenced to 29 months in prison after pleading guilty in January to conspiring to steal trade secrets from agricultural company Monsanto to benefit the Chinese government, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. Xiang Haitao, 44, who was employed by Monsanto and a subsidiary from 2008 to 2017, had pleaded guilty in Missouri federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit economic espionage.

Ukraine expects Russia to suspend hostilities during any papal trip -envoy

Ukraine would expect Russia to suspend hostilities during an eventual papal visit to Kyiv, the Ukrainian ambassador to the Vatican told Reuters on Thursday. Ambassador Andriy Yurash spoke hours after he met Pope Francis and top Vatican officials to formally present his credentials.

Russia laments 'tragedy' of troop deaths as Ukraine braces for major offensive

Russia gave the most damning assessment so far of its invasion, describing the "tragedy" of mounting troop losses and the economic hit from sanctions as Ukrainians were evacuated from eastern cities before an anticipated major offensive. Moscow's six-week long incursion has seen more than 4 million people flee abroad, killed or injured thousands, left a quarter of the population homeless, turned cities into rubble and led to Russia's near total isolation on the world stage.

China shipbuilding for Taiwan firm likely aiding Chinese navy build-up - U.S. think tank

Contracts between China's top state-owned shipbuilding firm and Taiwan's leading shipping company are likely lowering the costs of upgrading China's navy, posing security concerns for the island claimed by Beijing, a U.S. think tank said on Thursday. China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) is a key producer of vessels for China's rapidly expanding People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and is thought to be building its third aircraft carrier.

In final major push to voters, France's Le Pen appeals to history

Marine Le Pen sought on Thursday to cast her possible election in historic terms as she made her final major push to become France's first female president before the country votes in the first round. The far-right leader made her case before a group of 3,000 in a conference hall in Perpignan, a city in southwestern France bordering Spain and the largest city in the country controlled by a mayor from Le Pen's National Rassemblement party.

U.N. suspends Russia from human rights body, Moscow then quits

The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday suspended Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council over reports of "gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights" in Ukraine, prompting Moscow to announce it was quitting the body. The U.S.-led push garnered 93 votes in favor, while 24 countries voted no and 58 countries abstained. A two-thirds majority of voting members in the 193-member General Assembly in New York - abstentions do not count - was needed to suspend Russia from the 47-member Geneva-based Human Rights Council.

Zelenskiy says situation in second Ukraine town 'more dreadful' than Bucha

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on the Thursday that the situation in the town of Borodyanka was "significantly more dreadful" than in nearby Bucha, where Russian forces' suspected killings of civilians have been broadly condemned. Local officials have said more than 300 people were killed by Russian forces in Bucha, 35 kilometres northwest of the capital Kyiv, and around 50 of them were executed.