Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Fuel leak to delay first launch of NASA’s Artemis moon rocket for weeks

For the second time in a week, NASA on Saturday aborted an attempt to launch its giant, next-generation rocketship, citing a stubborn fuel leak that the space agency said could delay the debut mission of its moon-to-Mars Artemis program by at least several weeks. Preflight operations were called off for the day about three hours before the 2:17 p.m. EDT (1817 GMT) liftoff time targeted for the 32-story-tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and its Orion capsule from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Erdogan accuses Greece of ‘occupying’ demilitarised islands

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused Greece on Saturday of occupying islands in the Aegean Sea that have a demilitarised status, and said Turkey was prepared to “do what is necessary” when the time comes. Historic rivals while also being fellow members of NATO, Turkey and Greece have been at odds over issues ranging from overflights and the status of Aegean islands to maritime boundaries and hydrocarbon resources in the Mediterranean, as well as ethnically split Cyprus.

Pope dissolves Knights of Malta leadership, issues new constitution

Pope Francis on Saturday dissolved the leadership of the Knights of Malta, the global Catholic religious order and humanitarian group, and installed a provisional government ahead of the election of a new Grand Master. The change, which the pope issued in a decree, came after five years of often acrimonious debate within the order and between some top members of the old guard and the Vatican over a new constitution that some feared would weaken its sovereignty.

Thousands of Russians bid farewell to last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ‘the peacemaker’

Thousands of Russians filed past the open casket of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, on Saturday with many saying they wanted to honour his memory as “a peacemaker” who dismantled totalitarianism and gave them their freedom. Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union from 1985-1991, died on Tuesday aged 91. His body lay in state in the grand Hall of Columns in central Moscow in the tradition of previous Soviet leaders, including Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stalin.

Germany pledges $199 million in aid for displaced people in Ukraine – minister

Germany will provide Ukraine with an additional 200 million euros ($199.02 million) to fund aid programs for those internally displaced as a result of Russia’s invasion, Development Minister Svenja Schulze told Funke Media group. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will visit Berlin on Monday where he will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Clashes rock outskirts of Libyan capital

Libyan armed factions fought in the western outskirts of Tripoli late on Friday and early Saturday as forces aligned with Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah’s government further consolidated their control over the capital. Fighting took place in Warshafala, a district west of Tripoli that has been the site of repeated clashes throughout the 11 years of violence and chaos since a NATO-backed uprising ousted veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Brazil’s electoral authorities search former judge Sergio Moro’s home

Brazilian electoral authorities on Saturday morning carried out a search and seizure warrant at the home of Sergio Moro, a former judge who led one of Brazil’s biggest corruption probes, a former justice minister and current Senate candidate. This is the first time that Moro, who made his name leading the massive “Car Wash” corruption probe that jailed some of Brazil’s political and business elite, including current presidential front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has been targeted by electoral authorities.

Mali releases three women from among 49 detained Ivorian soldiers

Three women, who were among 49 Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali, were released on Saturday, state television said, around seven weeks since the arrest of the troops sparked a diplomatic spat between the West African neighbours. The soldiers were detained at the Malian capital Bamako’s international airport on July 10. Mali’s junta said they had flown in without permission and were seen as mercenaries.

Pakistan flood toll rises with 25 children among 57 more deaths

The toll from cataclysmic floods in Pakistan continued to climb on Saturday with 57 more deaths, 25 of them children, as the country grapples with a relief and rescue operation of near unprecedented scale. A high-level body set up to coordinate the relief effort met in Islamabad on Saturday for the first time, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to take stock of the disaster.

Nuclear plant loses power line as Moscow, West energy row escalates

A critical nuclear power plant in Ukraine again lost external power, international energy officials said on Saturday, heightening concerns as the energy battle between Moscow and the West ramped up in recent days amid the ongoing war. Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia plant — the largest in Europe — saw its last remaining main external power line cut off even as a reserve line was able to continue supplying electricity to the grid, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

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