Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Poland comes under fire over challenge to primacy of EU law

Poland’s prime minister came under repeated criticism during a tense debate in the European Parliament on Tuesday, with the EU’s chief executive telling Warsaw that its challenge to the supremacy of EU law would not go unpunished. Poland’s relations with the European Union, already badly strained, took a big knock last week when its Constitutional Tribunal ruled that elements of EU law were incompatible with the Polish constitution.

N.Korea confirms submarine launch of new ballistic missile

North Korea test-fired a new, smaller ballistic missile from a submarine, state media confirmed on Wednesday, a move that analysts said could be aimed at more quickly fielding an operational missile submarine. The statement from state media came a day after South Korea’s military reported that it believed North Korea had fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) off its east coast, the latest in a string of North Korean missile tests.

Germany must resist Russian ‘blackmail’ over pipeline -Greens co-leader

The co-leader of Germany’s Green Party accused Russian “blackmail” of causing high energy prices across Europe, saying Moscow is trying to leverage Germany to allow the Nord Stream 2 Baltic gas pipeline to begin operations. The remarks by Annalena Baerbock, considered a likely foreign minister in the next government, hinted at a key faultline in talks that are due to start Thursday between her party, Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats and the Free Democrat liberals on forming Germany’s next government.

UK foreign minister to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar

British foreign minister Liz Truss will travel to Saudi Arabia and Qatar this week, seeking to further the case for a trade deal with Gulf countries and deepen diplomatic ties. Truss, formerly Britain’s trade minister, will meet her Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani during the visit, the foreign office said.

Haiti gang seeks $1 million per person for kidnapped missionaries

A Haitian gang that kidnapped a group of American and Canadian missionaries is asking for $17 million – or $1 million each – to release them, according to a top Haitian official. Justice Minister Liszt Quitel told Reuters that talks were under way with kidnappers to seek the release of the missionaries abducted over the weekend outside the capital, Port-au-Prince, by a gang called 400 Mawozo.

Top U.S. and Brazil diplomats discuss ‘unprecedented’ migration

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Brazilian counterpart Carlos Franca to discuss “unprecedented” regional migration and ways to collaborate to slow the number of migrants heading north, the State Department said on Tuesday. The call between the senior diplomatic officials of the two largest economies in the Americas comes as a record number of Brazilians arrive at the southern U.S. border, part of a wave of people from Latin America fleeing a region hit badly by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brazil’s Bolsonaro should face homicide charge for COVID-19 errors, says Senate report

The senator leading a probe into Brazil’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has recommended that President Jair Bolsonaro be charged with homicide over what his report says are government errors that led to the deaths of thousands. Bolsonaro has dismissed the probe as politically motivated. It is highly unlikely that he will face a trial on any such charges, which would have to be brought by Brazil’s prosecutor general – a presidential nominee whom he appointed.

Biden picks career diplomat for top posting in Pakistan

U.S. President Joe Biden plans to nominate Donald Blome, currently ambassador to Tunisia, as his top diplomat in Pakistan as Washington works to manage the situation in neighboring Afghanistan following the withdrawal of American troops. Biden on Tuesday will announce plans to nominate Blome to the job in Pakistan, the White House said. Blome is a career Foreign Service diplomat with long experience in the region who once worked in the Kabul embassy, shuttered earlier this year during the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

FBI raids Washington, New York homes linked to Russia’s Deripaska

FBI agents on Tuesday raided Washington and New York City homes linked to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire under U.S. sanctions who once employed Paul Manafort, a chairman of Donald Trump’s 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. Two sources familiar with the investigation said the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan, also known as the Southern District of New York, is leading the probe related to Deripaska, a metals industry magnate with Kremlin ties.

Taliban get aid promise but not recognition on eve of Moscow talks

Russia, China and Pakistan are willing to provide aid to Afghanistan, the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday, but Moscow said it was not yet ready to recognise the Taliban government. The promise of humanitarian aid and economic support came after talks between Russian, Chinese and Pakistani officials, who will be joined by representatives of Afghanistan’s Islamist rulers at a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday.

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