World News Roundup: Vatican discloses uses of pope's fund, hoping to reverse sagging trust; European leaders meet Zelenskiy in Kyiv for first time since war began and more

In the first such visit to the capital since Russia unleashed its invasion, France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Olaf Scholz, Italy's Mario Draghi and Romania's Klaus Iohannis, shook hands with Zelenskiy, who has not left Ukraine since war began. UK condemns court decision to block Rwanda deportation, will not leave convention Britain has no plans to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, but the Strasbourg court which enforces it overstepped its powers in blocking the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda, deputy prime minister Dominic Raab said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Vatican discloses uses of pope's fund, hoping to reverse sagging trust

The Vatican, in an apparent attempt to boost the confidence of the faithful in how their charitable contributions to the pope are used, on Thursday issued the first detailed disclosure of his main fund. The Peter's Pence fund, whose aim is to help the pope run the Church, is made up of income from a collection taken up in Roman Catholic dioceses around the world once a year, individual contributions and inheritances, and bequests.

European leaders meet Zelenskiy in Kyiv for first time since war began

The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and Romania met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday in a show of support which Kyiv hopes will be followed by more weapons and tougher action to help in the war with Russia. In the first such visit to the capital since Russia unleashed its invasion, France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Olaf Scholz, Italy's Mario Draghi, and Romania's Klaus Iohannis, shook hands with Zelenskiy, who has not left Ukraine since the war began.

Myanmar junta calls the return of executions 'required action'

Myanmar's ruling military on Thursday defended a planned execution of two prominent democracy figures as lawful and required, defying international criticism for resuming capital punishment after a three-decade hiatus. The United Nations, France, the United States and international human rights groups have urged the junta not to follow through with the execution of activist Kyaw Min Yu and former lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw, who lost appeals against a terrorism conviction.

EU leaders visit Ukraine in a show of support after criticism

The leaders of Germany, France, and Italy - all criticized in the past by Kyiv for support viewed as too cautious - made a joint visit on Thursday to show solidarity with Ukraine, where officials pleaded for more Western arms. "It's an important moment. It's a message of unity we're sending to the Ukrainians," French President Emmanuel Macron said after pulling into Kyiv on an overnight train along with Germany's Olaf Scholz and Italy's Mario Draghi. They were also joined by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

Sri Lanka left with fuel stocks for around five days, minister says

Sri Lanka's fuel stocks will last for about five more days, its power and energy minister said on Thursday, as the island nation awaits official confirmation from the Indian government for a new $500 million credit line for fuel. The country of 22 million people is caught in its worst financial crisis in seven decades after its foreign exchange reserves dwindled to record lows, with dollars running out to pay for essential imports including food, medicine, and fuel.

Protests against India's new military recruitment system turn violent

Police in northern India fired shots in the air on Thursday to push back stone-throwing crowds and authorities shut off mobile internet in at least one district to forestall further chaos, as protests widened against a new military recruitment system. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government this week announced an overhaul of recruitment for India's 1.38 million-strong armed forces, looking to bring down the average age of personnel and reduce pension expenditure.

Lithuania parliament urges criminal prosecution of the Russian leadership

The Lithuanian parliament on Thursday called for the criminal prosecution of Russia's leadership for its invasion of Ukraine and what it said is the wide-scale forced deportation of Ukrainians to Russian territory. At least a million Ukrainians were deported to Russia and Russian-controlled territories, including 200,000 children, the parliament said in a motion that was passed unanimously.

Taiwan shows off latest home-made armored vehicle

Taiwan's military showed off its latest domestically produced armored vehicle on Thursday, the CM-34 Clouded Leopard, at a remote manufacturing site in the mountains of the central part of the island. Taiwan has been keen to demonstrate its resolve to defend itself should China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own territory, ever attack. Those fears have become more pronounced over the past two years or so as Beijing steps up military activities near Taiwan.

The Netherlands says Russian spy caught seeking war crimes court internship

The Dutch intelligence service said on Thursday it had uncovered a Russian military agent attempting to use a false identity to infiltrate the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is investigating accusations of war crimes in Ukraine. Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov created an elaborate cover story dating back years to try and enter the Netherlands as a Brazilian national for an internship at the Hague-based ICC in April, the agency's head told Reuters.

UK condemns court decision to block Rwanda deportation, will not leave the convention

Britain has no plans to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, but the Strasbourg court which enforces it overstepped its powers in blocking the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda, deputy prime minister Dominic Raab said on Thursday. The government was thwarted in its attempt to send a handful of migrants on a charter plane more than 4,000 miles (6,4000 km) to Rwanda on Tuesday after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) stepped in to issue injunctions, canceling the flight.