World News Roundup: At least 94 dead in Mozambique after unlicensed ferry boat capsizes, official says; Russia says Ukraine struck nuclear plant, Kyiv denies it was behind the attack and more

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has long warned of the risks of a disaster at Zaporizhzhia, Europe's largest nuclear plant, and urged an end to fighting in the area. Russia says Ukraine struck nuclear plant, Kyiv denies it was behind the attack Russia said Ukraine struck the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station controlled by Russian forces three times on Sunday and demanded the West respond, though Kyiv said it had nothing to do with the attacks.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

At least 94 dead in Mozambique after unlicensed ferry boat capsizes, official says

At least 94 people died, including children, and 26 are missing after a ferry boat capsized off the northern coast of Mozambique, an official from the country's Maritime Transport Institute (INTRASMAR) said. The vessel was an overloaded fishing boat and was not licensed to transport people, Lourenco Machado, an administrator of INSTRASMAR, said on state television on Monday.

Analysis-If you can’t beat 'em? European politicians embrace TikTok despite security fears

When Simon Harris became Ireland's prime minister-in-waiting in March, he turned to a favoured platform to express himself: TikTok. In a video with 'THANK YOU' written in yellow lettering, the man who will be Ireland's youngest Taoiseach told his 95,000 followers of his rise from an "opinionated, moody teenager" bristling at lack of educational help for his autistic brother.

Explainer-The nuclear power plant in the eye of the Ukraine war

Russia said Ukraine struck the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station controlled by Russian forces three times on Sunday and demanded the West respond, though Kyiv said it had nothing to do with the attacks. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has long warned of the risks of a disaster at Zaporizhzhia, Europe's largest nuclear plant, and urged an end to fighting in the area.

Russia says Ukraine struck nuclear plant, Kyiv denies it was behind the attack

Russia said Ukraine struck the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station controlled by Russian forces three times on Sunday and demanded the West respond, though Kyiv said it had nothing to do with the attacks. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which has experts at the site, said it was the first time the nuclear plant, Europe's largest, was directly targeted since November 2022 and said the attack had endangered nuclear safety.

Thai PM says Myanmar regime 'losing strength'

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told Reuters now is a good time to open talks with Myanmar as the military regime that seized power in a 2021 coup is weakening. Myanmar is in the throes of an insurgency on multiple fronts, with allied anti-junta groups backed by a pro-democracy parallel government seizing control of several military posts and towns, including parts of a key town on the border with Thailand over the weekend.

Hamas says Gaza truce talks still deadlocked despite reports of progress

A Hamas official said on Monday no progress was made at a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo also attended by delegations from Israel, Qatar and the U.S., shortly after Egyptian sources said headway had been achieved on the agenda. Western powers have voiced outrage over what they see as an unacceptably high Palestinian civilian death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza arising from Israel's military onslaught to destroy Hamas in tiny, densely populated Gaza.

Vatican opposes criminalisation of homosexuality, top cardinal says

The Vatican opposes the criminalization of homosexuality as practiced by several countries with the support of Catholic groups, the head of the Vatican's doctrine office said on Monday. Presenting a publication that reaffirmed the Vatican's opposition to sex changes, gender theory and surrogate parenthood, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez called laws punishing homosexuality "a big problem" and said: "of course we are not in favour of criminalisation."

Record floods in Russia's Urals triggered by melting snow

Swiftly melting snow triggered the worst recorded flooding in Russia's Ural Mountains, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes as some of Europe's biggest rivers swelled to bursting point. Russia declared an emergency in the Orenburg region near Kazakhstan after the Ural River, Europe's third longest river, swelled several metres in hours on Friday, and burst through a dam embankment in the city of Orsk.

Exclusive-Chad opposition figure was likely shot at point-blank range, experts say

A prominent Chadian opposition leader, who was killed in February by government troops, appears to have been shot in the side of the head at close range, according to five forensic experts who reviewed a photo of his dead body for Reuters. The experts' findings, based on the location and nature of the wound visible in the image, call into question statements by Chadian officials that Yaya Dillo was shot dead in an exchange of fire on Feb. 28 when security forces tried to arrest him at his party's headquarters in the capital, N’Djamena.

Ecuador armed forces to continue anti-crime operations with police-gov't

Ecuador's armed forces will continue carrying out joint anti-crime operations with the police under a presidential decree announced at midnight on Monday, the government said. The operations were first allowed under a 90-day state of emergency declared in January by President Daniel Noboa and meant to stem a wave of crime and violence blamed on drug trafficking gangs.

(With inputs from agencies.)