Reuters World News Summary

"I am continuing to follow health guidelines and am isolating at home in Sydney," Morrison said in a statement issued late Tuesday night. Ukrainians rush to buy rifles, shotguns as police relax rules As Russian rockets pounded targets in eastern Ukraine, men of fighting age lined up for hours outside gun shops in the western city of Lviv on Tuesday to buy hunting rifles and shotguns to protect their communities.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Ukraine crisis emerges as talking point in U.S. gun debate

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, gun rights advocates in the United States have sought to use the crisis to bolster their position on the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment to keep and bear arms, injecting a new element into the heated debate. Arguments linking the invasion to gun rights have cropped up this week across social media, in a post by the National Rifle Association and during a legislative vote in the Georgia statehouse.

What happened to Russia's Air Force? U.S. officials, experts stumped

Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, U.S. intelligence had predicted a likely blistering assault by Moscow that would quickly mobilize the vast Russian air power that its military assembled in order to dominate Ukraine's skies. But the first six days have confounded those expectations and instead seen Moscow act far more delicately with its air power, so much so that U.S. officials can't exactly explain what's driving Russia's apparent risk-adverse behavior.

Hollywood star Sean Penn joins Ukraine exodus to Poland on foot

Days after visiting the Ukrainian capital Kyiv to film scenes for his documentary on Russia's invasion, Hollywood actor-director Sean Penn found himself among thousands of refugees fleeing to Poland, joining the exodus on foot. Penn, 61, posted a photo to his Twitter feed on Monday showing the movie star wearing a backpack and toting a piece of luggage on wheels as he trudged along the shoulder of a road beside a line of cars stretching into the distance.

New Zealand police dismantle tents, tow vehicles to clear anti-vaccine protests

Clashes erupted between New Zealand police and anti-vaccine mandate protesters on Wednesday as officers, armed with riot shields, towed away vehicles and dismantled tents set up outside the country's parliament grounds. Taking inspiration from truckers' demonstrations in Canada, hundreds of protesters have been blocking streets near the parliament in capital Wellington with trucks, cars and motorcycles for more than three weeks.

Exclusive-Ukraine's Zelenskiy tells Russia "just stop the bombing" before more ceasefire talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities before meaningful talks on a ceasefire could start, as a first round of negotiations this week had yielded scant progress. Speaking in an interview in a heavily guarded government compound, Zelenskiy urged NATO members to impose a no fly zone to stop the Russian air force, saying this would be a preventative measure and not meant to drag the alliance into war with Russia.

Russia bombards Ukraine urban areas as armed convoy stalls

Russia bombed a TV tower in Ukraine's capital on Tuesday and rained rockets on the city of Kharkiv as Moscow intensified its bombardment of Ukrainian urban areas in a shift of tactics after its six-day invasion stalled. A U.S. official said a miles-long armoured column bearing down on the capital Kyiv had not made any advances in the past 24 hours, frozen in place by logistics problems, short on fuel and food, and perhaps pausing to reassess tactics.

Thai hotels urge government to further relax entry rules as arrivals lag

Thailand's top hoteliers on Tuesday urged the government to simplify entry rules to help along an otherwise slow recovery of one of the country's highest earning sectors. Thailand has been ahead of its Southeast Asian neighbours in easing entry rules, after imposing strict quarantine and entry requirements for more than a year.

Ukrainian cyber resistance group targets Russian power grid, railways

A Ukrainian cyber guerrilla warfare group plans to launch digital sabotage attacks against critical Russian infrastructure such as railways and the electricity grid, to strike back at Moscow over its invasion, a hacker team coordinator told Reuters. Officials from Ukraine's defense ministry last week approached Ukrainian businessman and local cybersecurity expert Yegor Aushev to help organize a unit of hackers to defend against Russia, Reuters previously reported.

Australian prime minister tests positive for COVID-19

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing flu-like symptoms, including fever. "I am continuing to follow health guidelines and am isolating at home in Sydney," Morrison said in a statement issued late Tuesday night.

Ukrainians rush to buy rifles, shotguns as police relax rules

As Russian rockets pounded targets in eastern Ukraine, men of fighting age lined up for hours outside gun shops in the western city of Lviv on Tuesday to buy hunting rifles and shotguns to protect their communities. "I can see that Russia will not stop, so I must stop them," said Andrew Muzyka, a web developer waiting with dozens of men outside a gun shop near Lviv's medical university.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)