Reuters World News Summary

Truss came third in the first round of voting among Conservative lawmakers on Wednesday, behind former finance minister Rishi Sunak and junior trade minister Penny Mordaunt. Biden says he would use force as 'last resort' to keep Iran from nuclear weapons U.S. President Joe Biden said he would use force as a last resort to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon as he began a trip to the Middle East.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

UK's Truss pledges to make the tough decisions as she sets out pitch to be PM

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will set out her pitch to be Britain's next prime minister on Thursday in an increasingly bitter race to replace Boris Johnson, with a pledge to take the tough decisions and get economic growth going. Truss came third in the first round of voting among Conservative lawmakers on Wednesday, behind former finance minister Rishi Sunak and junior trade minister Penny Mordaunt.

Biden says he would use force as 'last resort' to keep Iran from nuclear weapons

U.S. President Joe Biden said he would use force as a last resort to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon as he began a trip to the Middle East. Speaking in an interview with Israel's Channel 12 TV that was recorded before he left Washington on Tuesday but aired on Wednesday, Biden said he would keep Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) list even if that killed off the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Rishi Sunak tops first round of voting in UK leadership contest

Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak won the most votes in the first round of voting to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister, as two candidates were eliminated. Sunak scored 88 votes, ahead of junior trade minister Penny Mordaunt on 67 and foreign Secretary Liz Truss on 50. Finance minister Nadhim Zahawi and former cabinet minister Jeremy Hunt were eliminated.

North Korea recognises breakaway of Russia's proxies in east Ukraine

North Korea on Wednesday recognised two Russian-backed breakaway "people's republics" in eastern Ukraine as independent states, a separatist leader and the North's official news agency said. The move makes North Korea only the third country after Russia and Syria to recognise the two breakaway entities, the Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republics (LPR), in Ukraine's Donbas region.

Actor Kevin Spacey due in London court charged with sex offences

Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey is due to appear in a London court on Thursday where he is expected to enter a plea to accusations of sex offences dating back almost 20 years. Spacey is accused of five offences in Britain - four counts of sexual assault by touching, and a more serious charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. Prosecutors say Spacey forced a man to have oral sex.

Sri Lankan president flees to Maldives, protesters storm prime minister's office

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on Wednesday, driven out after an economic collapse unleashed a popular uprising that appeared to end his family's near two-decade dominance of the country. His decision to leave his ally Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in charge as acting president triggered more demonstrations, with protesters storming the premier's office demanding that he go too.

Biden savors Israel 'homecoming' as high-wire Saudi leg looms

Israel embraced U.S. President Joe Biden as an old friend on Wednesday at the start of a high-stakes visit dominated by efforts to bring Israel closer to Saudi Arabia and persuade Washington's Gulf allies to pump more oil. Landing at Ben Gurion Airport, whose runway he first trod in 1973 as a senator, Biden bumped fists with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and, in a speech, described the connection between the two nations as "bone-deep".

Italy's government faces collapse as 5-Star shuns confidence vote

Italy's 5-Star Movement will not take part in a parliamentary confidence vote on Thursday, party leader Giuseppe Conte said, in a move that looked likely to trigger the collapse of Prime Minister Mario Draghi's government. Other coalition parties have warned that they will quit the government if 5-Star boycotts the vote in the Senate, while Draghi himself said this week that he would not head an administration without Conte's party on board.

Breakthrough at Ukraine grain export talks as heavy shelling continues

Ukraine, the United Nations and Turkey hailed progress at talks in Istanbul that aim to resume Black Sea grain exports blocked by Russia and ease the risk of starvation faced by millions, but an end to the war remained far off as heavy shelling continued. Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday an agreement would be signed next week. Ankara will ensure the safety of shipments in transit and the parties will jointly check grain cargoes in ports, he added.

Analysis: Lula in flak jacket, Brazil on edge as political killing mars campaign

The shooting over the weekend of an official in Brazil's leftist Workers' Party (PT) by a supporter of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro has inflamed fears of more political violence ahead of a heated election in October. The local party official's death was the most dramatic case this year of a rising tide of political violence in the world's fourth-largest democracy, tracked by the Electoral Investigation Group (GIEL) at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.