Reuters World News Summary

Reuters has not been able to verify the number of people found dead in Bucha or the circumstances of their deaths. Exclusive-U.S. to announce $750 million more in weapons for Ukraine, officials say U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is expected to announce as soon as Wednesday another $750 million in military assistance for Ukraine for its fight against Russian forces, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

German president says Kyiv did not want him to visit

A planned visit to Kyiv by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was not welcomed by Ukraine, he said on Tuesday, following a report that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was critical of Steinmeier's historic advocacy of Western rapprochement with Russia. Steinmeier had planned to visit Kyiv with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda and the presidents of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia "to send a strong signal of European solidarity with Ukraine there," he told journalists during a visit to Warsaw.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy mocks Putin for saying war is going to plan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday mocked Moscow's insistence that the war against his nation was going well, asking how President Vladimir Putin could have approved a plan that involved so many Russians dying. Putin, speaking on Tuesday, said Russia would achieve all of its "noble" aims and "rhythmically and calmly" continue what it calls a special operation.

Ukraine tells Russia: Return prisoners if you want top ally back

Ukraine told Russia to release prisoners of war if it wants the Kremlin's most high-profile ally in the country freed as the United States is expected to send more weapons after Russia's strongest signal yet the war will grind on. U.S. President Joe Biden referred to Russia's attack on Ukraine as genocide for the first time, saying "we’ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me."

Poverty, education levels draw battle lines in French election

As French President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen head into a presidential run-off on April 24 promising to tackle high inflation, an analysis of first-round voting data shows the far-right challenger with an edge in low-income areas hardest hit by soaring costs. Sensing people's frustration in the face of rocketing inflation, Le Pen pivoted her campaign from her usual anti-immigration, eurosceptic message to how she would help restore families' budgets.

Shanghai eases COVID curbs for some even as factory halts widen

Some Shanghai residents were able to leave their homes for the first time in more than two weeks on Tuesday as the city took tentative steps towards easing a COVID-19 lockdown amid mounting worries over the economic impact of the strict curbs. With a quarter of the population under what brokerage Nomura described as "full or partial lockdowns," China's leadership is taking increasing steps to ease the economic toll of its "zero-COVID" strategy, but remains reluctant to risk larger waves of infection.

Biden accuses Russia of genocide in Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time on Tuesday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine amounts to genocide, a significant escalation of the president’s rhetoric. Biden used the term genocide in a speech at an ethanol plant in Iowa and later stood by the description as he prepared to board Air Force One.

French forensic experts in Bucha to help Ukraine investigate possible war crimes

French forensic experts have arrived in Bucha near Kyiv to help Ukraine authorities establish what happened in the town where hundreds of bodies have been discovered since Russian forces withdrew. Ukraine says the people were killed by Russian forces during their occupation of the area. Reuters has not been able to verify the number of people found dead in Bucha or the circumstances of their deaths.

Exclusive-U.S. to announce $750 million more in weapons for Ukraine, officials say

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is expected to announce as soon as Wednesday another $750 million in military assistance for Ukraine for its fight against Russian forces, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter told Reuters. The equipment would be funded using Presidential Drawdown Authority, or PDA, in which the president can authorize the transfer of articles and services from U.S. stocks without congressional approval in response to an emergency.

Brazil's Lula promises indigenous tribes he will reverse Bolsonaro measures

Former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday promised Brazil's indigenous people that he would stop illegal mining on their reservations and recognize their land claims if he wins the presidential election in October. Lula visited a protest camp in Brasilia where several thousands members of 200 tribes have gathered to oppose plans by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro to allow commercial agriculture, mining and oil exploration on their lands.

Khamenei says Iran's future should not be tied to nuclear talks with world powers

Iran's supreme leader said on Tuesday that his country's future should not be tied to the success or collapse of nuclear talks with world powers, Iranian state media reported, adding that the negotiations to revive a 2015 nuclear deal "are progressing well". Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last say on all state matters such as Iran's nuclear programme, made the comments about a month after almost a year of indirect talks between Iran and the United States stalled. Both countries blame each other for lack of "political will" to settle remaining issues.