Reuters World News Summary

Russia launched 57 missiles and drones against Ukraine in the early hours, including attacking Kyiv and the western region of Lviv near the Polish border. Russia's Crocus Group vows to restore concert hall after deadly rampage The owner of the Russian concert hall destroyed in the mass shooting and fire that killed at least 133 people said on Sunday it would restore the building.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Senegal begins voting in delayed presidential election

Voting opened in Senegal on Sunday in a delayed presidential election taking place against a turbulent political backdrop that has triggered violent anti-government protests and boosted support for the opposition. At stake is the potential end of a regime that has pushed investor-friendly policies but failed to alleviate economic hardship in one of coup-prone West Africa's more stable democracies just as it is poised to become the continent's latest oil and gas producer.

Only effective way to ramp up Gaza aid is by road, Guterres says

The only effective and efficient way to deliver heavy goods to meet Gaza's humanitarian needs is by road and includes an exponential increase in commercial deliveries, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday. Speaking after meeting Egypt's president and foreign minister in Cairo, Guterres also warned of the impact the war in Gaza was having around the globe.

Russia stages major airstrike on Ukraine; one missile enters Polish airspace

Russia struck critical infrastructure in Ukraine's western region of Lviv with missiles early on Sunday, Kyiv said, in a major airstrike that saw one Russian cruise missile briefly fly into Polish airspace according to Warsaw. Moscow launched 57 missiles and drones in the attack that also targeted the capital Kyiv, two days after the largest aerial bombardment of Ukraine's energy system in more than two years of full-scale war, Kyiv said.

Pope Francis skips Palm Sunday homily but continues service

Pope Francis at the last minute skipped reading his homily during a Palm Sunday Mass for tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square but continued presiding at the service, read his noon prayer and was driven around the crowd in a popemobile. In recent weeks the 87-year-old pope has been suffering on and off from bronchitis and influenza and has delegated an aide to read his addresses for him, but on Sunday his prepared text was not read at all.

Nigerian army rescues abducted Kaduna students

The Nigerian army on Sunday rescued students and staff who were abducted by gunmen from a school in the country's north earlier this month, the military said, days before a deadline to pay a $690,000 ransom. The kidnapping of 287 students on March 7 in Kuriga, a dusty town in the northwestern state of Kaduna, was the first mass abduction in Africa's most populous nation since 2021 when more than 150 students were taken from a high school in Kaduna.

Russia mourns victims of deadly concert hall attack

Russia lowered flags to half-mast on Sunday for a day of mourning after scores of people were gunned down with automatic weapons at a rock concert outside Moscow in the deadliest attack inside Russia for two decades. President Vladimir Putin declared a national day of mourning after pledging to track down and punish all those behind the attack, in which 133 people were killed, including three children, and more than 150 injured.

Brazil police arrest three suspects in 2018 murder of Rio councilwoman

Brazilian police arrested three people on Sunday, including a federal lawmaker, in connection to the 2018 murder of Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver, two sources at the federal police told Reuters. Federal police arrested Congressman Chiquinho Brazao, his brother Domingos Brazao, a councilor on the Rio de Janeiro state audit court (TCE) and former Rio police chief Rivaldo Barbosa, said the two sources.

Israel besieges two more Gaza hospitals, demands their evacuation, Palestinians say

Israeli forces besieged two more Gaza hospitals on Sunday, pinning down medical teams under heavy gunfire, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, and Israel said it had captured 480 militants in continued clashes at Gaza's main Al Shifa hospital. Israeli forces say hospitals in the Palestinian enclave where war has been raging for over five months have frequently been used as strongholds of Hamas militants harbouring bases and weapons. Hames and medical staff deny this.

Russia violates Poland's air space in attack on Ukraine, Poland's armed forces say

Russia violated Poland's airspace early on Sunday with a cruise missile launched at targets in western Ukraine, Poland's armed forces said. Russia launched 57 missiles and drones against Ukraine in the early hours, including attacking Kyiv and the western region of Lviv near the Polish border.

Russia's Crocus Group vows to restore concert hall after deadly rampage

The owner of the Russian concert hall destroyed in the mass shooting and fire that killed at least 133 people said on Sunday it would restore the building. All that was left after Friday evening's attack at the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow, which Islamic State has claimed responsibility for, were the charred iron support beams and the steel frames of hundreds of seats.