Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Taiwan vows counter-attack if China’s forces enter its territory

Taiwan said on Wednesday it would exercise its right to self defence and counter-attack if Chinese armed forces entered its territory, as Beijing increased military activities near the democratic island. Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own against the strong objections of the government in Taipei, has held military exercises around the island this month in reaction to a visit to Taipei by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Pakistan urged to open up India route to flood aid

International aid agencies struggling to help hundreds of thousands of people displaced by deadly floods in Pakistan have asked for the easing of curbs on imports of food from Pakistan’s old rival India, a Pakistani minister said on Wednesday. Unusually heavy monsoon rains have triggered floods that have submerged a third of the country and killed more than 1,100 people, including 380 children. The United Nations has appealed for $160 million to help with what it termed as an “unprecedented climate catastrophe”.

Special Report-Insiders reveal how Erdogan tamed Turkey’s newsrooms

When President Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-law suddenly quit as finance minister in late 2020, four staff in Turkey’s leading newsrooms said they received a clear direction from their managers: don’t report this until the government says so. The resignation of Berat Albayrak, which he announced in a Sunday evening Instagram post, was reported by international and independent Turkish news outlets. The lira soared on hopes of a new direction for the beleaguered economy.

EU to restrict travel rules for Russians, split on how far to go

The EU’s foreign policy chief on Wednesday urged bickering nations to settle their differences on restricting travel for Russian citizens, saying Europe must remain united vis-a-vis Moscow six months after the invasion of Ukraine. Josep Borrell made his warning as foreign ministers of the European Union gathered in Prague for a second day of talks, where they were expected to agree in principle on suspending a visa facilitation agreement with Russia.

Ten killed in Indonesia in truck crash outside school

At least 10 people have been killed, including some children, after a truck crashed on Wednesday near a bus stop outside a school in Indonesia’s West Java province, police said.

The students were waiting at the bus stop after class in the city of Bekasi, when the truck veered toward them and crashed into two motorcycles and toppled a concrete communications tower, traffic policeman Latif Usman said.

Afghan Taliban, a year after U.S. pullout, seek world’s approval

Afghanistan’s Taliban marked the first anniversary of the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces on Wednesday by calling on the international community to “learn” from the experience and accept them as the legitimate government. The withdrawal, completed a minute before midnight on Aug. 30, 2021, came as the Taliban swept to power after a 20-year insurgency against U.S.-led forces who invaded Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

West mourns Gorbachev as peace champion, Russia remembers failures

Mikhail Gorbachev was mourned in the West on Wednesday as a towering statesman who helped to end the Cold War, but his death received a cool response in Russia, engaged in a war with Ukraine to regain some of the power it lost when he presided over the Soviet Union’s collapse. Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, died at the age of 91 in a Moscow hospital on Tuesday after two years of serious illness.

Questions, tensions swirl as U.N. mission heads to Ukraine nuclear plant

U.N. nuclear inspectors set off in convoy for Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Wednesday after weeks of shelling nearby sparked fears of a Chornobyl-style radiation disaster, with tensions rising between Kyiv and Moscow over the visit. A Reuters reporter following the team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, said it was likely the inspectors would overnight in the nearby city of Zaporizhzhia before visiting the plant, which is on territory controlled by Russia, on Thursday.

Exclusive-Crisis-hit Sri Lanka strikes preliminary loan pact with IMF – sources

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka has reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout, four sources with direct knowledge of the plan have told Reuters. The debt-laden country has been seeking up to $3 billion from the global lender in a bid to escape its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

China’s Guangzhou tightens COVID curbs as parts of north join in

Parts of China’s southern city of Guangzhou imposed COVID-19 curbs on Wednesday, joining the tech hub of Shenzhen in battling flare-ups, but fuelling uncertainty over commerce and daily life in two of the region’s most economically vibrant metropolises. Several of China’s biggest cities have stepped up COVID-19 restrictions this week, curtailing the activities of tens of millions of people.

(With inputs from agencies.)