Reuters World News Summary

The Mass was attended by Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopol, who was detained by Russian forces last month and later freed in a prisoner exchange. Clashes erupt in Indian capital during Hindu procession Clashes broke out during a Hindu religious procession in the Indian capital New Delhi on Saturday, injuring several people, including policemen, police said, days after similar religious violence in three states.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Pope condemns cruelty of Ukraine war at Easter vigil service

Pope Francis condemned the cruelty of the war in Ukraine on Saturday at an Easter vigil Mass he attended but at which he did not preside, presumably because of leg pain that has forced him to curtail activities. The Mass was attended by Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopol, who was detained by Russian forces last month and later freed in a prisoner exchange.

Clashes erupt in Indian capital during Hindu procession

Clashes broke out during a Hindu religious procession in the Indian capital New Delhi on Saturday, injuring several people, including policemen, police said, days after similar religious violence in three states. Eyewitnesses told Reuters that the violence erupted between Muslims and Hindus during the procession in Jahangirpuri, a suburb of New Delhi. Police said they were still investigating.

Russia says all urban areas of Mariupol cleared of Ukrainian forces

The Russian defence ministry on Saturday announced it had cleared the entire urban area of Mariupol of Ukrainian forces and said only a few fighters remained in the Azovstal steelworks, the scene of repeated clashes. In an online post, the ministry said that as of April 16, Ukrainian forces in the besieged port city had lost more than 4,000 people, RIA added.

UK's Johnson to leave home woes behind in visit to India

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will seek to put his domestic problems behind him when he visits India this week on a trip to strengthen links between the two countries which have not seen eye to eye over the response to the Ukraine crisis. Johnson will head to India on Thursday with calls for his resignation ringing in his ears after he was fined for breaking his own COVID-19 lockdown rules by attending a birthday party for him in Downing Street in June 2020.

Russian oligarch Deripaska's yacht arrives in Turkish waters

A yacht linked to Russian aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska arrived in a bay near the southwestern Turkish resort of Gocek on Saturday, as more Russian billionaires head for Turkey to flee Western sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Deripaska, founder of Russian aluminium giant Rusal, has been sanctioned by the United States, European Union and Britain. He has previously called for peace.

Morocco condemns Israeli raid on Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque

Morocco condemned on Saturday the Israeli raid on Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem saying the escalation undermines peace efforts. At least 152 Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli riot police inside Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Friday, the latest outbreak in a recent upsurge of violence that has raised fears of a slide back to wider conflict.

Fuel ship sinks off Tunisia, threatening environmental disaster

Tunisian authorities intensified efforts on Saturday to avoid an environmental disaster after a merchant fuel ship carrying one thousand tons of fuel sank off the coast of Gabes on Friday, two security sources told Reuters. The Tunisian navy had rescued all seven crew members from the ship, which was heading from Equatorial Guinea to Malta, and sent a distress call seven miles away from southern city of Gabes, the sources added.

Opponents of French far-right protest as election campaign enters final week

Thousands of anti-far right protesters marched across France on Saturday as opponents of presidential candidate Marine Le Pen seek to form a united front to prevent her from winning an election runoff against incumbent Emmanuel Macron on April 24. Macron, a pro-European Union centrist, won the presidency in 2017 after easily beating Le Pen when voters rallied behind him in the runoff to keep her far-right party out of power.

Kim Jong Un observes weapons test to enhance nuclear capabilities

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has observed the test firing of a new type of tactical guided weapon aimed at boosting the country's nuclear capabilities, the North's KCNA state news agency reported on Sunday. The report comes amid signs North Korea could soon resume nuclear testing according to South Korean and U.S. officials and after Kim broke a self-imposed moratorium on intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) testing with a launch last month.

Russia says its forces clear most of Mariupol, strike Kyiv suburb

Russia said its troops had cleared the urban area of Mariupol and only a small contingent of Ukrainian fighters remained inside a steelworks in the besieged southern port on Saturday, as missile strikes hit Ukraine's capital Kyiv and other cities. Moscow's claim to have all but taken control of Mariupol, scene of the war's heaviest fighting and worst humanitarian catastrophe, could not be independently verified. It would be the first major city to have fallen to Russian forces since the Feb. 24 invasion.