World News Roundup: Japan finds wreck of boat missing after an accident that killed 14; Sweden to boost military on Gotland amid Russia fears and more

Members of an alliance of armed groups known as the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) assaulted a military camp on the outskirts of Bakouma town early on Thursday morning, said a local government official who did not wish to be named for security reasons. Ukraine says Russia taking 'colossal losses' in eastern battle Ukraine acknowledged on Friday it was taking heavy losses in Russia's assault in the east, but said Russia's losses were even worse, as U.S. President Joe Biden called on Congress to send as much as $33 billion to help Kyiv withstand the attack.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Japan finds wreck of boat missing after an accident that killed 14

Japan located on Friday the hull of a tour boat off its northern coast, the coast guard said, six days after the vessel disappeared in an accident that killed at least 14 people on a sightseeing trip. The hull of the "Kazu I" was found on the seabed at a depth of about 120 meters (390 ft) off the northern island of Hokkaido in pitch-dark waters shown in footage from an underwater camera of the Maritime Self Defence Force, the coast guard said.

Sweden to boost military on Gotland amid Russia fears

Sweden's government said on Friday it had put aside up to 1.6 billion Swedish crowns ($163 million) to strengthen its military infrastructure on the strategically important island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea amid increased tensions with nearby Russia. Sweden has been rebuilding its military over the last decade, particularly since Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Solomon Islands PM says won't accept militarisation of Pacific

The Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China because a similar deal with Australia was inadequate, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said, adding his country knew the cost of war and would not be part of any militarisation of the Pacific. Addressing parliament on Friday, Sogavare made his first public comments since talks with White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell, who visited Honiara days after the security pact with China was announced.

Six soldiers killed in the Central African Republic rebel attack

Rebels killed at least six soldiers in an attack on Thursday on a military outpost in the southeast Central African Republic, the latest reported incident in a decade-long conflict, a local official and a hospital director said on Friday. Members of an alliance of armed groups known as the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) assaulted a military camp on the outskirts of Bakouma town early on Thursday morning, said a local government official who did not wish to be named for security reasons.

Ukraine says Russia taking 'colossal losses' in eastern battle

Ukraine acknowledged on Friday it was taking heavy losses in Russia's assault in the east but said Russia's losses were even worse, as U.S. President Joe Biden called on Congress to send as much as $33 billion to help Kyiv withstand the attack. The body of a journalist from U.S.-backed broadcaster Radio Liberty was found in the rubble in the Ukrainian capital, killed in a Russian missile attack during a visit by the U.N. secretary-general.

Pakistan, India reel under intense heatwave

Pakistan issued a heat warning after the hottest March in 61 years while in parts of neighboring India schools were shut and streets deserted as an intense heave wave on Friday showed no signs of abating. Pakistan's Federal Minister for Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, urged the federal and provincial governments to take precautionary measures to manage the intense heatwave, which touched highs of 47 degrees Celsius (116.6 Fahrenheit) in parts of the country.

Ukraine hopes to evacuate civilians holed up with fighters in Mariupol steelworks

Ukraine hopes on Friday to evacuate civilians who are holed up in vast steelworks with the last fighters defending the southern city of Mariupol. "An operation is planned today to get civilians out of the plant," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office said without giving details.

'It was a massacre': Mariupol residents recall battle for the Ukrainian city

Residents of Mariupol recounted the horrors of the battle for their now devastated city this week as they sifted through the rubble for belongings, cooked meals by the roadside or just stared at the charred shells of buildings all around them. "It was terrible... like films that show the last days of the planet – the same thing happened here," said Viktoria Nikolayeva, 54, who like many residents stayed with her family in a basement as Russian and Ukrainian forces battled overhead.

Russian parliament chief says Ukraine is mortgaging itself to the United States

Russia's most senior lawmaker said on Friday that Ukraine was effectively mortgaging itself to the United States by seeking to tap billions of dollars of weapons loans proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden. Biden on Thursday asked Congress for $33 billion to support Ukraine - a dramatic escalation of U.S. funding for the war with Russia - and the Ukrainian president pleaded with lawmakers to give the request a swift approval.

EU's Von der Leyen, Michel may visit Japan next month, Kyodo says

Arrangements are being made for a visit to Japan in May by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, Kyodo news agency said on Friday, citing multiple diplomatic sources. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may hold a summit meeting with Von der Leyen and Michel on May 12, Kyodo said.