Reuters World News Summary

Air raid sirens blared in Kyiv as the visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Olaf Scholz and Italy's Mario Draghi began, with the leaders touring a nearby town wrecked early in the war. U.S., partners dismantle Russian hacking 'botnet,' Justice Dept says Law enforcement in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain dismantled a global network of internet-connected devices that had been hacked by Russian cyber criminals and used for malicious purposes, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Vatican discloses uses of pope's fund, hoping to shore up trust

The Vatican, in an apparent attempt to boost the confidence of the faithful in how their charitable contributions to the pope are used, on Thursday issued the first detailed disclosure of his main fund. The Peter's Pence fund, whose aim is to help the pope run the Church, is made up of income from a collection taken up in Roman Catholic dioceses around the world once a year, individual contributions and inheritances and bequests.

European leaders visit Ukraine, dangling hope of EU membership

The leaders of Germany, France and Italy, all criticised in the past by Kyiv for support viewed as too cautious, visited Ukraine on Thursday and offered the hope of EU membership to a country pleading for weapons to fend off Russia's invasion. Air raid sirens blared in Kyiv as the visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Olaf Scholz and Italy's Mario Draghi began, with the leaders touring a nearby town wrecked early in the war.

U.S., partners dismantle Russian hacking 'botnet,' Justice Dept says

Law enforcement in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Britain dismantled a global network of internet-connected devices that had been hacked by Russian cyber criminals and used for malicious purposes, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. The network, known as the "RSOCKS" botnet, comprised millions of hacked computers and devices worldwide, including "Internet of Things" gadgets like routers and smart garage openers, the department said in a statement.

France's Macron says up to Ukraine to decide on potential territorial concessions

Ukraine alone should decide whether or not to accept any territorial concessions towards Russia in view of ending the war, French President Emmanuel Macron told TF1 television in an interview as he visited Kyiv. "This is up to Ukraine to decide," Macron said when asked what concessions, including on its territory, Ukraine should accept, adding: "I think it is our duty to stand by our values, by international law and thus by Ukraine."

Silos on Ukraine border would keep grain out of Russian hands, says U.S.

Temporary silos on Ukraine's border would be intended to prevent Russia from stealing Ukrainian grain and make sure the country's winter harvest is not lost due to a lack of storage, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Thursday. But, during a visit to the United Nations, Vilsack stressed that reviving shipments from Ukraine's Black Sea ports was the most effective and efficient way to export grain and urged Russia to take U.N.-led talks on the issue "seriously."

Protests against India's new military recruitment system turn violent

Police in northern India fired shots in the air on Thursday to push back stone-throwing crowds and authorities shut off mobile internet in at least one district to forestall further chaos, as protests widened against a new military recruitment system. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government this week announced an overhaul of recruitment for India's 1.38 million-strong armed forces, looking to bring down the average age of personnel and reduce pension expenditure.

ICC prosecutor aims to show war criminals can't escape justice

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said on Thursday he hoped his war crimes investigation in Ukraine would show there can be no escape from justice during conflicts. Visiting Ukraine as part of the investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan described the country as a crime scene.

Third American reported missing after traveling to Ukraine

The United States said on Thursday it was aware of reports that a third U.S. citizen is missing after traveling to Ukraine and it had not yet asked Russia about two Americans reportedly captured after going to the country to fight Russian forces. "As of today, we have not raised this yet with the Russian Federation ... (We) haven't seen anything from the Russians indicating that two such individuals are in their custody," U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, describing reports about the two men as unconfirmed.

Tributes pour in for British reporter Dom Phillips, presumed killed in Amazon

Indigenous groups, environmentalists, fellow reporters and family and friends paid tribute on Thursday to British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian isolated tribes expert Bruno Pereira who disappeared in the Amazon 11 days ago and are presumed dead. Police said on Wednesday night that they had recovered human remains from a grave in the jungle where they were led by a fisherman who confessed to killing the two men. The remains are still being identified.

European leaders talk up EU prospects for Ukraine in first visit since war began

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday won backing from the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania to give Ukraine European Union candidate status, while urging them to send more weapons and impose tougher sanctions on Russia. In the first such visit to the capital since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Olaf Scholz, Italy's Mario Draghi and Romania's Klaus Iohannis said Ukraine belonged in the "European family".

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