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Nuclear weapons do not increase a nation's or region's security, in fact, they are a "risk multiplier" that gives people a false sense of security, Pope Francis said in a message to an international conference.

More than 60 people are feared dead after a Russian bomb reportedly hit a school in eastern Ukraine on Saturday. The attack came as diplomatic efforts were underway to evacuate wounded soldiers from a steel plant in Ukraine's devastated city of Mariupol.

Pope Francis reiterates his appeal for peace in so many war-afflicted countries and asks all believers to pray that leaders be attuned to the wish of their suffering people who know that weapons do not bring peace.

In talks on Wednesday with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Pope Francis says the use and possession of nuclear weapons is inconceivable.

The heads of several UN agencies have denounced the deadly blasts at two schools in Kabul on Tuesday, saying the attacks are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law.

Ukrainian officials say Russian missiles have hit the western city of Lviv, as Moscow’s troops step up strikes on infrastructure across Ukraine in preparation for an expected all-out assault on the east.

At a recent press conference organized by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the Sri Lankan cardinal alleged: “There are indications that the authorities wanted the attacks to be carried out."

On Easter Sunday in 2019, Islamic extremists targeted three churches and three hotels in Sri Lanka’s capital, and killed 267 people.

Ukraine says Russian forces have seized the largest nuclear plant in Europe amid mounting concern about the ongoing Russian invasion. The use of cluster bombs in the offensive has added to concerns, with many refugees fleeing, including the Hungarian Ukrainian border

In his greeting to the Polish faithful at the General Audience in the Vatican, the Pope thanks the people of Poland for their generosity towards people fleeing the war in Ukraine and asks all men and women of goodwill to be close to the population that is suffering the bombings and violence.

Pope Francis renews his invitation to set aside 2 March as a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace in Ukraine, and decries the "diabolical and perverse logic of weapons" which, he says, is far from the will of God.