Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia’s Putin and Turkey’s Erdogan hold Syria, defence talks

The presidents of Russia and Turkey on Wednesday began talks on curbing renewed violence in northwest Syria and on possibly expanding Moscow’s sales of military defense systems to Ankara despite U.S. objections. The talks are taking place in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi and the Kremlin said that President Vladimir Putin was ending a period of coronavirus-related self-isolation by meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

In triumph for Japan’s establishment, Kishida becomes ruling-party head

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) anointed former foreign minister Fumio Kishida as its new leader on Wednesday, a victory for the party elite that virtually ensures the soft-spoken consensus-builder will become prime minister within days. Although he enjoys only moderate popular support and is saddled with a bland image, Kishida drew critical backing from some party heavyweights, allowing him to stop the momentum of outspoken rising star Taro Kono, the minister in charge of the coronavirus vaccine roll-out.

British army to start driving tankers as queues for fuel continue

British soldiers will start driving tankers to replenish empty pumps, as drivers queued again for fuel after days of shortages, despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying the situation was improving. Britain has been gripped by a rush of panic-buying for almost a week that has left pumps dry across major cities, after oil companies warned they did not have enough tanker drivers to move petrol and diesel from refineries to filling stations.

New Besties? German Greens, FDP cosy up to build coalition

The leaders of Germany’s Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) posted a smiling selfie of themselves together on Wednesday that quickly went viral and said they were finding common ground in preliminary talks about a three-way coalition after Sunday’s election. The two parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum and at odds on a range of major issues from finance to climate protection are seen as kingmakers after the vote, which was narrowly won by the Social Democrats (SPD).

‘You are making the future today’, Pope tells youth climate activists

Pope Francis on Wednesday praised youth climate campaigners for their efforts to tackle global warming and encouraged them to carry on with their work “for the good of humanity”. Thousands of young activists have converged on Milan this week for a Youth4Climate event, with some 400, from about 190 countries, due to engage with policymakers to hammer out proposals for tackling climate change.

Myanmar currency drops 60% in weeks as economy tanks since February coup

Myanmar’s currency has lost more than 60% of its value since the beginning of September, driving up food and fuel prices in an economy that has tanked since a military coup eight months ago. Many gold shops and money exchanges closed on Wednesday due to the turmoil, while the kyat’s dive trended on social media with comments ranging from stark warnings to efforts to find some humour as yet another crisis hits the strife-torn nation.

Experts tip Tsikhanouskaya, Thunberg or reporters for Nobel Peace Prize

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize could go to exiled Belarusian dissident Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, climate activist Greta Thunberg, or a media watchdog such as Reporters without Borders (RSF), Norwegian experts on the prize said on Wednesday.

The winner of the $1 million prize, arguably the world’s top accolade, is selected by a five-member panel appointed by the Norwegian parliament, and will be announced in Oslo on Oct. 8.

U.S. bars flight from landing with Americans from Kabul – activists

The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday denied U.S. landing rights for a charter plane carrying more than 100 Americans and U.S. green card holders evacuated from Afghanistan, organizers of the flight said. “They will not allow a charter on an international flight into a U.S. port of entry,” Bryan Stern, a founder of non-profit group Project Dynamo, said of the department’s Customs and Border Protection agency.

Hong Kong legislature passes controversial anti-doxxing privacy bill

Hong Kong’s legislature on Wednesday passed a privacy law tackling “doxxing” – the public release of information identifying an individual or organisation – that critics say could be used to protect those in power and target civil society. Supporters say the legislation was long overdue to counter a problem festering since the city’s 2019 mass pro-democracy protests. Some officers’ home addresses and children’s schools were exposed by anti-government protesters, leading to threats.

China’s Belt and Road plans losing momentum as opposition, debt mount -study

China’s vast Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is in danger of losing momentum as opposition in targeted countries rises and debts mount, paving the way for rival schemes to squeeze Beijing out, a new study showed on Wednesday. President Xi Jinping launched BRI in 2013, aiming to harness China’s strengths in financing and infrastructure construction to “build a broad community of shared interests” throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America.

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