World News Roundup: UK to remove Chinese-made surveillance equipment from sensitive government sites; Pope Francis in hospital for second abdominal surgery in two years and more

Under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has cast China as the world's greatest challenge to security and prosperity, the government told its departments last year to stop installing Chinese-linked surveillance cameras at sensitive buildings. Sudan military factions battle over weapons and fuel depots Sudan's army has been battling to defend a military industrial complex believed to contain large stocks of weapons and ammunition in southern Khartoum, close to fuel and gas depots that are at risk of exploding, residents said on Wednesday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

UK to remove Chinese-made surveillance equipment from sensitive government sites

Britain has committed to the removal of Chinese-made surveillance equipment from sensitive government sites as part of its latest plans to address national security concerns related to China. Under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has cast China as the world's greatest challenge to security and prosperity, the government told its departments last year to stop installing Chinese-linked surveillance cameras at sensitive buildings.

Sudan military factions battle over weapons and fuel depots

Sudan's army has been battling to defend a military industrial complex believed to contain large stocks of weapons and ammunition in southern Khartoum, close to fuel and gas depots that are at risk of exploding, residents said on Wednesday. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in the eighth week of a power struggle with the army, had attacked the area containing the Yarmouk complex late on Tuesday before retreating after heavy fighting, witnesses said. Clashes could still be heard on Wednesday morning.

Air India sends plane for stranded passengers in Russia, with engineers

Air India sent an aircraft on Wednesday to pick up passengers whose Delhi to San Francisco flight was diverted to Russia's Far East after their Boeing 777 plane developed engine trouble, India's aviation minister said. The 216 passengers and 16 crew on board Tuesday's flight had been moved to makeshift accommodation, given infrastructure limitations at the remote Magadan airport, the airline said in a statement.

Lithuania migrant detention law is unconstitutional -top court

Lithuania's highest court on Wednesday struck down as unconstitutional a 2021 law allowing authorities to keep all migrants locked up for months in detention centres if their numbers soar. Parliament passed legislation in July 2021 to enable the detention of all undocumented migrants for up to six months and curbed their rights of appeal.

Analysis-Germany's far-right rides high on anti-immigration, anti-green agenda

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is riding high in the polls to the alarm of mainstream parties and is on track to win three state votes in the east of the country with calls to stop migration and curb what it sees as a costly green agenda. AfD is polling 17-19% nationwide, around a record high for the party that now vies with Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats for second place in some surveys, up from fifth in the 2021 election when it secured 10.3% of the vote.

Prince Harry says phone-hacking was on industrial scale in UK press

Prince Harry said phone-hacking was carried out on an industrial scale across the British press and he would feel a sense of injustice if the High Court in London ruled he had not been a victim. Harry, the first senior British royal to give evidence in court for more than 130 years, was being grilled in the witness box for a second day on Wednesday over his allegations that tabloids had used unlawful means to target him since he was a child.

Pope Francis in hospital for second abdominal surgery in two years

Pope Francis was admitted to a Rome hospital on Wednesday for another abdominal operation under general anaesthesia, this time to repair a hernia most likely caused by scars from surgery in 2021. Francis, 86, gave no sign that he was about to enter hospital for planned surgery during his general audience in St. Peter's Square, where he was in good spirits, stopped to kiss babies and lingered to chat with newlyweds.

Ukrainians face homelessness, disease as floodwaters crest from destroyed dam

Ukrainians abandoned their inundated homes as floodwaters crested across a swathe of the south on Wednesday after the destruction of a vast dam on the front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces that each blamed on the other. Residents waded through flooded streets carrying children on their shoulders, dogs in their arms and belongings in plastic bags while rescuers used rubber boats to search areas where the waters reached above head height.

Exclusive-Kosovo president open to new elections in Serb-majority municipalities

Kosovo could trigger new elections in Serb-majority municipalities rocked by violent protests if 20% of voters sign a petition asking for them, the president told Reuters. In an exclusive interview in her office, President Vjosa Osmani said she believed a petition was the most "democratic way" to proceed to new elections.

Gunman shoots two dead, wounds five others at Virginia high school graduation

A man armed with four handguns killed two people and wounded five others when he fired into a crowd outside a high school graduation ceremony in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday, police said. Police said they arrested one suspect, a 19-year-old man who knew one of the victims and shot at him amid the crowd that had just emerged from the Huguenot High School's commencement ceremony inside a theater on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.