World News Roundup: Angry French farmers storm into agriculture fair in Paris; Moon lander Odysseus tipped sideways on lunar surface but 'alive and well' and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Gaza ceasefire talks underway in Paris as air strikes continue

Gaza truce talks were underway in Paris on Friday, in what appears to be the most serious push for weeks to halt the fighting in the battered Palestinian enclave and see Israeli and foreign hostages released. A source briefed on the ceasefire talks, who could not be identified by name or nationality, said talks had begun with Israel's head of Mossad intelligence service meeting separately with each party - Qatar, Egypt and United States.

How Russia's military uses volunteer fighters to plug gaps in Ukraine

When Russian forces withdrew from the town of Balakliia in eastern Ukraine in late 2022, pursued by Ukrainian troops and under artillery fire, they left a poorly equipped group of volunteers to guard their retreat. The force of around 50 men came from the National Army Combat Reserve - known by its Russian acronym BARS - a loose assembly of units totaling several thousand fighters that Russia's defense ministry has deployed in Ukraine to supplement its regular forces.

Moon lander Odysseus tipped sideways on lunar surface but 'alive and well'

The moon lander dubbed Odysseus is "alive and well" but resting on its side a day after its white-knuckle touchdown as the first private spacecraft ever to reach the lunar surface, and the first from the U.S. since 1972, the company behind the vehicle said on Friday. Houston-based Intuitive Machines also revealed that human error led to a failure of the spacecraft's laser-based range finders, how engineers detected the glitch by chance hours before landing time, and how they improvised an emergency fix that saved the mission from a probable crash.

Angry French farmers storm into agriculture fair in Paris

A group of French farmers stormed into a major Paris farm fair on Saturday ahead of a planned visit by President Emmanuel Macron amid anger over costs, red tape and green regulations. Facing dozens of police officers inside the trade fair, the farmers were shouting and booing, calling for the resignation of Macron and using expletives aimed at the French leader.

Yulia Navalnaya demands authorities release husband's body, calls Putin's faith 'fake'

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, on Saturday demanded that Russian authorities release his body for burial and accused a "demonic" Russian President Vladimir Putin of "torturing" his corpse. In a six minute video posted on YouTube, Navalnaya accused Putin of holding her husband's body "hostage", and questioned Putin's often-professed Christian faith.

One dead, one injured in blast in India's Manipur state

One person died and another was injured in a bomb blast at a college in Imphal, the capital of India's northeastern state of Manipur, on Friday night, security officials said. No group has taken responsibility for the blast of the improvised explosive device (IED), the officials said.

European leaders in Kyiv pledge to back Ukraine on war anniversary

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowed that Europe would back Ukraine until it was "finally free" as she and three other Western leaders arrived in Kyiv to show solidarity on the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. The visit by von der Leyen and the prime ministers of Italy, Canada and Belgium - Giorgia Meloni, Justin Trudeau and Alexander De Croo - was a show of support as Ukraine suffers shortages of military supplies that are hurting it on the battlefield as Moscow grinds out territorial gains.

Thai ex-PM Thaksin weak, 'happy' after detention release -PM Srettha

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Saturday that ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra was happy and in a good mood but still weak after his recent release from hospital detention.

The 74-year-old billionaire, whose family's party has regained power, was released on parole on Feb. 18 after six months in detention, his first day of freedom in his homeland 15 years after he fled a military coup that had deposed him.

Flooded Greek lake a warning to European farmers battling climate change

Sitting in a small motorboat, farmer Babis Evangelinos glides over land he once cultivated on the Thessaly plain in central Greece, the nearby trunks of his fruitless almond trees submerged by floodwater. His small plot, near Lake Karla, is among tens of thousands of acres of cotton fields, almond trees and grazing lands that were wiped out by unprecedented flooding last year in one of Greece's key breadbaskets.

US targets Russia with hundreds of sanctions over Ukraine war, Navalny death

The United States on Friday imposed extensive sanctions against Russia, targeting more than 500 people and entities to mark the second anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and retaliate for the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. President Joe Biden said the measures aim to ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin "pays an even steeper price for his aggression abroad and repression at home."

(With inputs from agencies.)