World News Roundup: Pope struggles with leg pain on Malta trip, defends migrants; Ukrainian photographer and Reuters contributor, Maksim Levin, killed covering war and more

Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement saying it had found "several cases of Russian military forces committing laws-of-war violations" in Russian-controlled regions such as Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Kyiv. EU accuses Russian troops of committing atrocities in Ukrainian town Bucha The European Union on Sunday accused Russian troops of committing atrocities in the Kyiv region after the mayor of the town of Bucha said 300 residents had been killed during a month-long occupation by Russian forces.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Pope struggles with leg pain on Malta trip, defends migrants

Pope Francis, struggling with leg pain, on Sunday said countries should always help those trying to survive "amidst the waves of the sea" as he wrapped up a trip to one of the Mediterranean countries at the heart of Europe's migration debate. At the start of the last day of his trip, Francis visited the grotto in the town of Rabat, where according to tradition, St. Paul lived for two months when he was among 75 people shipwrecked on their way to Rome in the year 60 AD. The Bible says they received unusual kindness.

Ukrainian photographer and Reuters contributor, Maksim Levin, killed covering war

Maksim Levin, a photographer and videographer who was working for a Ukrainian news website and was a long-time contributor to Reuters, was killed while covering Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He leaves behind his wife and four children. His body was found in a village north of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 1, the news website LB.ua where he worked said on Saturday.

Ukrainian mayor shows dead bodies in liberated city of Bucha

The mayor of a Ukrainian city on the northern outskirts of Kyiv on Sunday showed journalists dead bodies in an area that, he said, Chechen fighters controlled during the month that Russian forces occupied the city. The mayor, Anatoliy Fedoruk, showed a Reuters team two corpses with white cloth tied around their arms which - the mayor said - was what residents were forced to wear by fighters from Chechnya, a region in southern Russia that has deployed troops to Ukraine to support Russian forces.

Missiles hit Ukrainian refinery, 'critical infrastructure' near Odesa

Russian attacks have destroyed an oil refinery in the central Poltava region and struck "critical infrastructure", most likely oil facilities, near the port city of Odesa, local officials said on Sunday. Russian forces have attacked Odesa, the main base for Ukraine's navy, alongside other Ukrainian Black Sea ports such as Mariupol and Mykolaiv. If taken, it would give Russia a land corridor from Crimea to Transniestria, a Russian-speaking breakaway province of Moldova that hosts Russian troops.

Taliban bans drug cultivation, including lucrative opium

The Taliban announced on Sunday a ban on the cultivation of narcotics in Afghanistan, the world's biggest opium producer.

"As per the decree of the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, all Afghans are informed that from now on, cultivation of poppy has been strictly prohibited across the country," according to an order from the Taliban's supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada.

Hungarians vote on Orban's 12-year rule in tight ballot overshadowed by Ukraine war

The odds are slightly in favour of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, one of Europe's longest-serving leaders, extending his 12-year rule in an election on Sunday, where his close ties with Moscow are subject to scrutiny as Hungarians head to the ballot box. With the war in neighbouring Ukraine dominating the campaign, the six-party opposition alliance is within striking distance of Orban's Fidesz party in the polls, making the outcome of the ballot uncertain for the first time since Orban swept to power in 2010.

Fresh turmoil for Pakistan as PM Khan dodges ouster, opposition vows fight

Pakistan's political turmoil deepened on Sunday, when Prime Minister Imran Khan avoided an attempt to oust him and sought fresh elections, a move the opposition challenged as treasonous and vowed to fight. The deputy speaker of parliament, a member of Khan's party, blocked an opposition no-confidence motion that Khan had widely been expected to lose.

Ukrainians and Europeans accuse Russians of committing atrocities

Ukrainian and European officials expressed outrage on Sunday at what they said were atrocities committed by Russian forces near Kyiv before they withdrew from the region to focus their attacks elsewhere. The mayor of Bucha, a town 37 km (23 miles) northwest of the capital, said on Saturday that 300 residents had been killed during a month-long occupation by the Russian army. Victims were seen by Reuters in a mass grave and still lying on the streets.

Human Rights Watch accuses Russian forces of 'apparent war crimes' in Ukraine

A leading rights group said on Sunday it had documented what it described as "apparent war crimes" committed by Russian military forces against civilians in Ukraine. Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement saying it had found "several cases of Russian military forces committing laws-of-war violations" in Russian-controlled regions such as Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Kyiv.

EU accuses Russian troops of committing atrocities in Ukrainian town Bucha

The European Union on Sunday accused Russian troops of committing atrocities in the Kyiv region after the mayor of the town of Bucha said 300 residents had been killed during a month-long occupation by Russian forces. "Shocked by news of atrocities committed by Russian forces. EU assists Ukraine in documenting war crimes," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Twitter, adding all cases needed to be pursued by the International Court of Justice.

(With inputs from agencies.)