Reuters World News Summary

President Joe Biden said for the first time on Tuesday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine amounts to genocide, a significant escalation of his rhetoric. U.S. says advanced hackers have shown ability to hijack critical infrastructure Advanced hackers have shown they can take control of an array of devices that help run power stations and manufacturing plants, the U.S. government said in an alert https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/alerts/aa22-103a on Wednesday, warning of the potential for cyber spies to harm critical infrastructure.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

UK's Johnson seeks to put fine behind him with immigration plan

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will on Thursday try to switch attention to the issue of illegal immigration and away from angry calls for his resignation after he was fined for breaking his own COVID-19 lockdown rules. Johnson was fined on Tuesday for attending a gathering in his Downing Street office for his birthday in June 2020 when social mixing was all but banned under rules his government had introduced.

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."

Brazil Workers Party okays Alckmin as Lula's running mate

The leadership of former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's Workers Party (PT) on Wednesday approved former Sao Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin as his running mate for Brazil's presidential election in October. Lula, front-runner in the race against far-right incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro, has worked for months to round out his ticket with Alckmin, a center-right political veteran who ran unsuccessfully against Lula in 2006. He is expected to allay concerns from business interests about a return of a left-wing government.

U.S. congratulates Sharif on becoming new Pakistani prime minister

The United States on Wednesday congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on becoming Pakistan's new prime minister following the ouster of his predecessor in a parliamentary no-confidence vote, with the top U.S. diplomat reaffirming the "value" of the relationship between the two nations. The warm tone of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement appeared to signal a desire to repair ties damaged by former Prime Minister Imran Khan's harsh anti-U.S. rhetoric and his unproven charges that Washington engineered his dismissal.

After Biden remark, U.S. yet to commit to its own genocide probe of Russia

The United States on Wednesday stopped short of promising to launch its own inquiry to determine whether genocide was committed by Russia in Ukraine but said it will support international efforts to hold Russia accountable. President Joe Biden said for the first time on Tuesday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine amounts to genocide, a significant escalation of his rhetoric.

U.S. says advanced hackers have shown ability to hijack critical infrastructure

Advanced hackers have shown they can take control of an array of devices that help run power stations and manufacturing plants, the U.S. government said in an alert https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/alerts/aa22-103a on Wednesday, warning of the potential for cyber spies to harm critical infrastructure. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and other government agencies issued a joint advisory saying the hackers' malicious software could affect a type of device called programmable logic controllers made by Schneider Electric and OMRON Corp.

Russia imposing sanctions on U.S. and Canadian politicians, Interfax says

Russia is imposing tit-for-tat sanctions on 398 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 87 Canadian senators and will move against other people, Interfax news agency cited the foreign ministry as saying on Wednesday. Moscow acted after Washington slapped sanctions on 328 members of the Russian State Duma, or lower house of parliament, on March 24 in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. gives Ukraine $800 million more in military aid, adds heavy weapons

U.S. President Joe Biden announced an additional $800 million in military assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday, expanding the scope of the systems provided to include heavy artillery ahead of a wider Russian assault expected in eastern Ukraine. The package, which brings the total military aid since Russian forces invaded in February to more than $2.5 billion, includes artillery systems, artillery rounds, armored personnel carriers and unmanned coastal defense boats, Biden said in a statement after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Macron says Le Pen showing authoritarian streak after journalist ban

French President Emmanuel Macron launched a scathing attack on far-right rival Marine Le Pen on Wednesday, saying her true "authoritarian" intentions were showing after she banned a team of reporters and did not rule out a return to the death penalty. Macron, a pro-European centrist, became president in 2017 after easily beating Le Pen when voters rallied behind him to keep the far-right out of power. This time, he faces a tougher challenge.

U.S. pushes U.N. to cut N.Korea oil imports, ban tobacco, blacklist Lazarus hackers

The United States is pushing the U.N. Security Council to further sanction North Korea over its renewed ballistic missile launches by banning tobacco and halving oil exports to the country and blacklisting the Lazarus hacking group, according to a draft resolution reviewed by Reuters on Wednesday. The United States circulated the draft to the 15 council members this week. It was not immediately clear if or when it could be put to a vote. A resolution needs nine "yes" votes and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, Britain or the United States.