Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

UK interior minister quits with criticism of Truss as lawmakers row

Britain’s interior minister quit on Wednesday with a broadside at Liz Truss before her lawmakers openly quarrelled in parliament, underscoring the erosion of the prime minister’s authority after just weeks in the job. The departure of Suella Braverman, over a “technical” breach of government rules, means Truss has now lost two of her most senior ministers in less than a week, both replaced by politicians who had not backed her for the leadership.

Ukraine curbs power usage after Russian attacks destroy some energy plants

Ukraine is restricting electricity usage nationwide for the first time on Thursday following a barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks that have destroyed some power plants just before the cold winter months set in. Power supply will be restricted between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., government officials and the grid operator Ukrenergo said. Street lighting in cities will be limited, a presidential aide said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that if people did not minimise electricity use, there would be temporary blackouts.

Mexico confident U.S. will expand humanitarian access for Venezuelans

The U.S. government is likely to increase the number of Venezuelans to which it grants humanitarian access under a recent migrant accord, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Wednesday. Under a bilateral plan announced last Wednesday, Washington said it would grant up to 24,000 Venezuelans humanitarian access to the United States by air, while enabling U.S. officials to expel to Mexico those caught trying to cross illegally by land.

Cuba calls U.S. trade embargo a ‘hurricane’ that never ends

Cuba on Wednesday said the decades-old U.S. trade embargo has been causing record financial losses and untold human suffering in recent months, at a time when Cuba was also battling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ian.

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez made the comments at the launch of an annual campaign for a United Nations resolution condemning the trade embargo, which was put in place after Cuba’s 1959 revolution.

New Italy government will be pro-NATO, pro-Europe, says Meloni

Giorgia Meloni, who is expected to be Italy’s next prime minister, threw down the gauntlet to her right-wing coalition partners on Wednesday, saying her new government would be pro-NATO and fully a part of Europe. Her uncompromising statement came after her conservative ally Silvio Berlusconi reiterated his sympathy for Russian President Vladimir Putin and accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of triggering the war.

U.S. charges Russians for shipping military equipment, Venezuelan oil

U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday charged five Russian nationals for sanctions evasion and other violations related to shipping military technologies bought from U.S. manufacturers to Russian buyers, some of which ended up on the battlefield in Ukraine. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said the electronic components purchased by Russian nationals Yury Orekhov and Svetlana Kuzurgasheva included semiconductors, radars and satellites. Some of the electronics obtained through the scheme have been found in Russian weapons platforms seized in Ukraine, prosecutors said.

Brazil’s Lula and Bolsonaro statistically tied in presidential race -poll

Brazil’s presidential race has narrowed to a 4-percentage-point gap between leftist front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and far-right incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro, and they are now statistically tied, according to a poll published on Wednesday. Datafolha said Lula now has 49% of voter support against 45% for Bolsonaro less than two weeks from the second-round runoff on Oct. 30, compared to 49% and 44% respectively in the previous poll five days ago.

Russia to review working with U.N. chief if he inspects drones in Ukraine

Russia said on Wednesday that it will reassess cooperation with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres if he sends experts to Ukraine to inspect drones that Western powers say were made in Iran and used by Moscow in violation of a U.N. resolution. Speaking after a closed-door U.N. Security Council meeting on Moscow’s use of drones, Russia’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy called on Guterres and his staff to “abstain from engaging in any illegitimate investigation.”

Exclusive-U.S. says Russia oil price cap will not be aimed at OPEC

New steps from Group of Seven countries to cap Russian oil sales at an enforced low price will not be replicated against OPEC producers, whose plans to cut output have irked consumer countries, a United States Treasury official told Reuters. Washington has communicated to representatives of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to reassure them of those limits to its plans and has maintained from the beginning that the cap would not target other oil producers, the official added.

Brazil’s Lula vows to Evangelical voters he would respect religious freedom

Leftist presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva assured Brazil’s Evangelical Christians that he would not restrict religious freedoms if he is elected on Oct. 2, and praised the dedication to their beliefs. In a public letter to Brazilian Evangelicals, Lula said he was personally opposed to legalizing abortion and his government would leave that issue for Congress to decide.

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