Reuters World News Summary

The school children, some older students and members of the school staff were abducted on March 7 in the town of Kuriga, in Nigeria's northwestern Kaduna State, in the first mass kidnapping in the country since 2021. North Korea's Kim guided military demonstration involving tanks, KCNA says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided a military demonstration involving tank units on Wednesday, state media KCNA reported on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Ukrainian drones damage Russian oil refineries in second day of attacks

Ukraine struck Russian oil refineries in a second day of heavy drone attacks on Wednesday, causing a fire at Rosneft's biggest refinery in one of the most serious attacks against Russia's energy sector in recent months. Oil prices rose 2% partly due to concerns about supply disruption following the attacks which President Vladimir Putin said were an attempt to disrupt his country's presidential election this week.

Calm in Haitian capital extends into second day as US, UN withdraw staff

Haiti's capital was calm on Wednesday two days after the prime minister said he would step down, but the U.S. and UN began to withdraw staff in a sign they fear peace might not hold. Prime Minister Ariel Henry said on Monday he would resign from his post once a transitional council takes over, following escalating violence by powerful gangs that has led thousands to flee their homes.

Trump Georgia election subversion judge dismisses some charges

The judge in Donald Trump's Georgia election subversion trial on Wednesday dismissed three criminal counts against the former U.S. president and three others against co-defendants, a court filing showed on Wednesday, while letting the overall case proceed. Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee decided that allegations by state prosecutors that Trump and his co-defendants tried to get Georgia officials to violate their oaths of office were not detailed enough to sustain those six counts, according to the court filing.

Neophyte, patriarch of Bulgaria's Orthodox Church, dies at 78

Patriarch Neophyte, a soft-spoken theologian who sought to restore the reputation of the Bulgarian Orthodox church hurt by links to businessmen and communist secret police, died at the age of 78, the church said late on Wednesday. "After a long illness, His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch and Sofia Metropolitan Neophyte, the archbishop of our native Holy Orthodox Church died in the Military Medical Academy (VMA-Sofia) at 10:22 p.m., as a result of multiple organ failure," the church said in a statement.

US asks Panama to strip flags from Iranian ships sanctioned by Washington

The United States has asked Panama to ban Iranian vessels sanctioned by Washington from using its flag, U.S. State Department special envoy Abram Paley said on Wednesday. Paley said the request aims to prevent ships from being used for illegal actions such as supporting groups designated as Iranian terrorist organizations with oil sales.

Israel says air strike on Gaza UN food centre killed Hamas militant

Israel said on Wednesday its airstrike on a U.N. food distribution centre in southern Gaza killed a Hamas commander whom it targeted, and Palestinian health officials said it killed four more people including a U.N. worker. The Israeli military said the strike killed Mohammad Abu Hasna, whom it described as a Hamas militant who provided intelligence to the group on Israeli troops' positions and was "also involved in taking control of humanitarian aid and distributing it to Hamas terrorists."

Exclusive-Israeli tank strike killed 'clearly identifiable' Reuters reporter - UN report

An Israeli tank killed Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah in Lebanon last year by firing two 120 mm rounds at a group of "clearly identifiable journalists" in violation of international law, a U.N. investigation into the Oct. 13 incident has found. The investigation by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), summarized in a report seen by Reuters, said its personnel did not record any exchange of fire across the border between Israel and Lebanon for more than 40 minutes before the Israeli Merkava tank opened fire.

EU agrees 5 billion euro boost for Ukraine military aid fund

European Union countries agreed on Wednesday to provide 5 billion euros ($5.48 billion) for military aid to Ukraine as part of a revamp of an EU-run assistance fund, handing Kyiv a timely boost as its forces struggle against Russia's invasion. Ambassadors from the EU's 27 member countries agreed to the overhaul of the European Peace Facility (EPF) fund at a meeting in Brussels after months of wrangling, with EU heavyweights France and Germany at the centre of much of the debate.

Exclusive-Nigerian kidnappers demand $620,000 for release of school hostages, local authorities say

Gunmen who kidnapped 286 students and staff from a school in northern Nigeria last week have demanded a total of 1 billion naira ($620,432) for their release, a spokesman for the families of the hostages and a local councillor told Reuters. The school children, some older students and members of the school staff were abducted on March 7 in the town of Kuriga, in Nigeria's northwestern Kaduna State, in the first mass kidnapping in the country since 2021.

North Korea's Kim guided military demonstration involving tanks, KCNA says

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided a military demonstration involving tank units on Wednesday, state media KCNA reported on Thursday. Kim also expressed "great satisfaction" that a new type of main battle tank successfully demonstrated its striking power in its first display of performance at what KCNA described as a "training match."

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)