World News Roundup: Belarus starts taking delivery of Russian nuclear weapons - president; Netanyahu coalition moves to delay picking seats to judicial appointments panel and more

The war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has caused a humanitarian crisis in Khartoum, as well as cities including El Obeid, Nyala, El Fashir, and El Geneina, where more than 1,100 people have been killed. Dozens drown in deadliest migrant shipwreck off Greece this year At least 59 migrants drowned early on Wednesday and more were feared missing when their boat capsized and sank off Greece, the country's coast guard said.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Belarus starts taking delivery of Russian nuclear weapons - president

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said his country has started taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons, some of which he said were three times more powerful than the atomic bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The deployment is Moscow's first move of such warheads - shorter-range less powerful nuclear weapons that could potentially be used on the battlefield - outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Netanyahu coalition moves to delay picking seats to judicial appointments panel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition moved on Wednesday to delay picking two new members of a panel that appoints judges, angering opposition parties who had expected to be given a seat. Opposition parties said the move could jeopardise talks on a compromise over Netanyahu's proposed judicial changes, which have triggered unprecedented protests and a fall in the shekel currency.

Sudan's war exacts deadly toll on dialysis patients, leaves bodies rotting

Kidney dialysis patients are dying and dead bodies have been left to decompose in a morgue and in city streets as Sudan's war rages on, despite efforts by volunteers and aid workers to keep critical healthcare running. Sudan's health sector was already on the edge of collapse due to a lack of resources before the conflict, and it has been shattered by nearly two months of fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) across the country.

Nigeria boat capsize death toll rises to more than 100

The death toll from an overloaded boat that capsized in a remote part of Nigeria's north central region has risen to more than 100, police and officials said on Wednesday, in one of the worst such disasters in recent years. The wooden boat was ferrying people to Kwara state across a river from neighbouring Niger state after a wedding ceremony when it capsized on Monday night.

Darfur cities under fire as Sudanese war spreads

Fighting rocked several vulnerable cities in western Sudan on Wednesday in an expansion of the country's almost two-month-old war as the number of people who have fled their homes rose above two million. The war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has caused a humanitarian crisis in Khartoum, as well as cities including El Obeid, Nyala, El Fashir, and El Geneina, where more than 1,100 people have been killed.

Dozens drown in deadliest migrant shipwreck off Greece this year

At least 59 migrants drowned early on Wednesday and more were feared missing when their boat capsized and sank off Greece, the country's coast guard said. By midday, 104 were rescued, but it remained unclear how many were on board when the vessel went under, authorities said. The shipwreck was the deadliest off Greece this year.

Italy bids farewell to Berlusconi on contested day of mourning

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi continued to divide his country even after death, as a decision by the government, which includes his former party, to honour him with a national day of mourning on Wednesday sparked controversy. Berlusconi died on Monday aged 86. His state funeral, set to start at 1300 GMT in Milan's Cathedral, is expected to draw several thousand mourners including foreign dignitaries and Italian political leaders.

Trump pleads not guilty in federal documents case

Former U.S. President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to federal criminal charges that he unlawfully kept national-security documents when he left office and lied to officials who sought to recover them. Trump's plea, entered before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman in a federal court in Miami, sets up a legal battle likely to play out over coming months as he campaigns to win back the presidency in a November 2024 election. Experts say it could be a year or more before a trial takes place.

Ukraine says Russian missile attacks kill three in Odesa, three in Donetsk

Overnight Russian missile attacks killed three people in the Black Sea city of Odesa and three in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday. The three killed in Odesa were in a retail chain warehouse that was set ablaze during an attack that damaged a business centre, an educational institution, a residential complex, food establishments and shops, Ukraine's military said.

China rebukes US in phone call ahead of Blinken's Beijing trip

China's foreign minister Qin Gang urged the United States to stop meddling in its affairs and harming its security in a phone call with his U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, a tense preview to Antony Blinken's visit to Beijing expected in coming days. Qin told Blinken to respect China's core concerns, such as the Taiwan issue, in an effort to arrest declining relations between the superpowers, according to China's foreign ministry.