World News Roundup: Russian forces killed hundreds of civilians early in Ukraine war, UN report says; Pope compares Ukrainian suffering to WWII Nazi death operation and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russian forces killed hundreds of civilians early in Ukraine war, UN report says

At least 441 civilians were killed by Russian forces in the early days of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations human rights office said on Wednesday, documenting summary executions and attacks in dozens of towns across three regions. The actual number of victims in the Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions was likely to be much higher, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a report looking into the invasion's start on Feb. 24 until early April, when Russian forces withdrew from the three areas.

Pope compares Ukrainian suffering to WWII Nazi death operation

Pope Francis on Wednesday compared the war in Ukraine to a Nazi operation that killed some two million people, mostly Jews, in the first years of World War Two. Speaking to Polish pilgrims at his weekly general audience, Francis noted that the Catholic University of Lublin, in Poland, had recently commemorated the anniversary of Operation Reinhard.

Israel's Netanyahu needs one more party for coalition, may seek more time

Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu was still one partner short of a coalition to secure a parliamentary majority on Wednesday after an ultra-Orthodox Jewish party signed up, with the deadline for forming a government looming. The deal with United Torah Judaism (UTJ), announced late on Tuesday, promised Netanyahu control of 53 of the Knesset's 120 seats with his conservative Likud party. That left Shas, an ultra-Orthodox party with 11 seats, as Likud's last likely ally.

Violence in South Sudan's Upper Nile displaces 9,000 -U.N. agencies

Violence in South Sudan's Upper Nile state has killed an unknown number of people and displaced just over 9,000, some of whom are hiding in swamps, United Nations agencies said on Wednesday. Violence is rampant in parts of South Sudan where clashes triggered by local disputes over grazing areas, water, cultivation grounds and other resources often turn deadly.

China's Xi starts 'epoch-making' Saudi visit to deepen economic and strategic ties

President Xi Jinping arrives in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday on a visit that China hailed as its biggest-ever diplomatic initiative in the Arab world, as Riyadh looks to expand global alliances beyond its longstanding partnership with the West. The meeting between the global economic powerhouse and Gulf energy giant comes as Saudi ties with Washington are strained by U.S. criticism of Riyadh's human rights record and Saudi support for oil output curbs before the November midterm elections.

Sister of Iran's leader condemns his rule, urges Guards to disarm - letter

A sister of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has condemned his crackdown on nationwide protests and called on the widely-feared Revolutionary Guards to lay down their weapons, according to a letter published by her France-based son. Iran has been gripped by unrest since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in police custody on Sept 16., and is facing a three-day general strike movement which started on Monday.

Indonesian suicide bomber leaves note criticizing new criminal code

A suspected Islamist militant, angered by Indonesia's new criminal code, killed one other person and wounded at least 10 in a suicide bomb attack at a police station in the city of Bandung on Wednesday, authorities said. The suicide bomber was believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State-inspired group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) and had previously been jailed on terrorism charges, Indonesian police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo told a news conference.

Germany detains far-right group over plot to install prince by force

Germany on Wednesday detained 25 members and supporters of a far-right group that the prosecutor's office said was preparing a violent overthrow of the state to install as national leader a prince who had sought support from Russia. Prosecutors said the group was inspired by the deep state conspiracy theories of Germany's Reichsbuerger and QAnon, whose advocates were among those arrested after the storming of the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.

Ukraine appears to show ability to strike deep in Russia

A third Russian airfield was set ablaze by a drone strike a day after Ukraine demonstrated an apparent new ability to penetrate hundreds of kilometers into Russia with attacks on two air bases. Officials in the Russian city of Kursk, about 90 km (60 miles) north of the Ukraine border, released pictures of black smoke above an airfield after the latest strike on Tuesday. The governor said an oil storage tank had gone up in flames but there were no casualties.

'We're going to be free': Chinese cheer as COVID curbs are loosened

China on Wednesday announced the most sweeping changes to its resolute anti-COVID regime since the pandemic began three years ago, loosening rules that curbed the spread of the virus but sparked protests and hobbled the world's second-largest economy. The relaxation of rules, which includes allowing infected people with mild symptoms to quarantine at home and dropping testing for people travelling domestically, is the clearest sign yet Beijing is pivoting away from its zero-COVID policy to let people live with the disease.