Reuters World News Summary

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed five-time prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to his sixth term late on Thursday, but opposition comments signalled it was not likely to resolve the political and economic disarray in the strategic Indian Ocean island nation. Ukraine begins first war crimes trial of Russian soldier A Ukrainian court held a preliminary hearing on Friday in the first war crimes trial arising from Russia's Feb. 24 invasion, after charging a captured Russian soldier with the murder of a 62-year-old civilian.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Malaysia touts trade access as U.S. Indo-Pacific plan only a 'good beginning' -trade chief

Malaysia views U.S. President Joe Biden's proposed Indo-Pacific economic bloc as a welcome initiative but sees a bigger immediate opportunity in selling its access to a China-led trade pact to lure investment from global companies, Malaysia's trade minister said on Friday. The Biden administration's proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) aims to offer a U.S.-led platform for negotiating common regional standards around digital trade and data flows, labor standards, carbon emissions reductions and governance. But to the chagrin of some countries and business groups, it will not reduce tariffs between members or include traditional enhancements to market access.

Ukrainian forces thwart Russians at river as fight shifts to Donbas

Ukrainian forces destroyed parts of a Russian armoured column as it tried to cross a river in the Donbas region, video from Ukraine's military showed on Friday, as the Ukrainian defence minister predicted many weeks of grinding fighting ahead. Ukrainian forces have driven Russia from the second-largest Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in their fastest advance since Kremlin troops pulled away from Kyiv and the northeast over a month ago to focus their offensive on the Donbas region bordering Russia.

At least 26 killed in fire in western Delhi suburb

At least 26 people died on Friday in a fire that broke out in a four-storey building near a railway station in city state Delhi's western suburb, police said in a statement. Television footage showed smoke billowing out of the windows of the building, with firefighters helping those trapped in the upper floors to escape as hundreds watched.

Israeli police beat mourners at funeral of slain Palestinian journalist

Israeli police officers charged at Palestinian mourners carrying the coffin of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on Friday, before thousands led her casket through Jerusalem's Old City in an outpouring of grief and anger over her killing. Packed around Abu Akleh's coffin, dozens of Palestinians, some waving Palestinian flags and chanting, "With our soul and blood we will redeem you Shireen," began walking toward the gates of St. Joseph's Hospital.

Canada Supreme Court rules extreme intoxication can be violent crime defense

The Supreme Court of Canada on Friday ruled that defendants accused of violent crimes such as homicide and sexual assault can use self-induced extreme intoxication as a defense, striking down a federal law supported by women's advocacy groups. The court said a 1995 law that prohibits the defense was unconstitutional and violated Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Ukrainian servicemen load bodies of Russian soldiers onto refrigerated rail cars

Ukrainian military authorities loaded the bodies of Russian soldiers collected after fighting in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions onto refrigerated rail cars on Friday. Volodymr Lyamzin, the head of Ukraine’s civil-military cooperation, said his country was acting in accordance with international law and was ready to return the bodies to Russia.

Mexican girl at center of outcry over violence was sexually assaulted, murdered: autopsy

Mexico's president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador vowed on Friday to deliver justice for the killing of a Mexican teenage girl after an autopsy was published showing she had been violently sexually assaulted and murdered. "I promised to help clarify what happened and ensure there's no impunity," Lopez Obrador told a news conference after meeting with the parents of Debanhi Escobar, whose killing last month inflamed anger over violence against women across Mexico.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tests positive for COVID

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tested positive for COVID-19 with moderate symptoms, her office said in a statement on Saturday. She will not be in Parliament for the government's Emissions Reduction Plan on Monday and the coming Budget on Thursday.

Sri Lanka opposition, protesters push anti-govt campaign despite new PM

Sri Lanka's main opposition party joined anti-government protesters on Friday in rejecting the appointment of a new prime minister and insisted the president resign to take responsibility for the country's disastrous economic crisis. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed five-time prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to his sixth term late on Thursday, but opposition comments signalled it was not likely to resolve the political and economic disarray in the strategic Indian Ocean island nation.

Ukraine begins first war crimes trial of Russian soldier

A Ukrainian court held a preliminary hearing on Friday in the first war crimes trial arising from Russia's Feb. 24 invasion, after charging a captured Russian soldier with the murder of a 62-year-old civilian. The case is of huge symbolic importance for Ukraine. The Kyiv government has accused Russia of atrocities and brutality against civilians during the invasion and said it has identified more than 10,000 possible war crimes.