With reference to the global conflicts, Pope Francis on Friday, July 1, stated that the UN lacks the power to assert its authority to prevent wars. When asked if it is possible to achieve peace through multilateral organisations, the Pontiff stated that the constitution does not grant the organisation the authority to stop wars. He did, however, clarify that his intention is not to offend anyone.

According to Vatican news, Pope stated, "After World War II, trust was placed in the United Nations. It is not my intention to offend anybody; I know there are very good people working there, but at this point, the UN has no power to assert its authority. It does help to prevent wars. In order to stop a war, to stop a conflict llike the one we are seeing in Europe right now or like others around the world, it has no power."

"We are alarmed," he said, referring to the Ukraine conflict. He also mentioned the conflict in Rwanda 25 years ago, the past decade of war in Syria, and the "infighting" in Lebanon and Myanmar to support his theory that the world is at war, even if it is not in one place. Indeed, he claimed that if the world stopped producing weapons for a year, "we could end world hunger." He claimed to be quoting someone "who knows the statistics."

According to Ukrainian officials, Russian missiles hit an apartment building and a resort near Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa, killing at least 19 people. Dozens more were injured in the early morning attack on July 1, which came amid an increase in missile strikes across Ukraine over the previous two weeks.

• Reference: Aparna Shandilya