World News Roundup: Belarus leader says his warplanes have been modified to carry nuclear weapons; Afghan female journalist struggles for women 'heroes' from exile and more

A Russian official said Ukraine was to blame. Taiwan says 15 Chinese aircraft cross Taiwan Strait median line Fifteen Chinese fighter jets flew on Friday across the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which usually serves as an unofficial territorial barrier, Taiwan's defence ministry said, as China continues military activities near the island. Number plate row fuels Kosovo's ethnic tensions as Serbia seeks more talks Mediated talks over the status of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo have failed to ease tensions - fuelled by a dispute over car number plates - between Belgrade and authorities in Pristina, Serbia's president said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Belarus leader says his warplanes have been modified to carry nuclear weapons

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that his military's SU-24 warplanes had been modified to carry nuclear weapons and that Minsk would react immediately if the West caused it any problems. Lukashenko said he had agreed the move to modernise Belarusian warplanes with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Belta news agency reported.

Afghan female journalist struggles for women 'heroes' from exile

It was when the Taliban came to arrest her and her brother in October that Fawzia Saidzada, an Afghan journalist and women's rights activist, finally decided it was time to flee. The 30-year-old managed to get out the next day after promising the Taliban she would inform on other journalists and activists - something she never did. Her brother was held for 15 days.

Greek PM takes heat over phone tapping scandal, defends spy service's work

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament on Friday the phone tapping of an opposition leader by the EYP intelligence service was wrong, but did not disclose the reason behind it. He said the phone tapping of Nikos Androulakis, leader of the socialist opposition PASOK party, was a legal but "politically unacceptable" operation.

Angolan election draws low voter turnout as ruling party on course to win

Fewer than half of Angola's registered voters cast ballots in this week's election that looks set to extend the MPLA's almost five decades in power, electoral commission data showed on Friday. Despite the MPLA's expected success, Wednesday's vote was Angola's most closely fought yet with unprecedented gains for the opposition, who have complained about the counting process.

Dutch set to rectify 'inhumane' conditions at asylum seeker centre -RTL

The Netherlands will tackle what its refugee council has called "inhumane" conditions at its main reception centre for asylum seekers by increasing capacity and ordering regional authorities to accept more refugees, Dutch broadcaster RTL Nieuws reported. It cited a leaked draft of the plan a day after the government announced an investigation into the death of a 3-month-old baby at the Ter Apel shelter, where over 700 asylum seekers have been sleeping rough outdoors recently.

Ukraine narrowly escapes nuclear catastrophe as plant loses power, Zelenskiy says

The world narrowly escaped a radiation disaster when electricity to Europe's largest nuclear power plant was cut off for hours, Ukraine's president said, urging international bodies to act faster to force Russian troops to vacate the site. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian shelling on Thursday had sparked fires in the ash pits of a nearby coal power station that disconnected the Zaporizhzhia plant from the power grid. A Russian official said Ukraine was to blame.

Taiwan says 15 Chinese aircraft cross Taiwan Strait median line

Fifteen Chinese fighter jets flew on Friday across the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which usually serves as an unofficial territorial barrier, Taiwan's defence ministry said, as China continues military activities near the island.

Number plate row fuels Kosovo's ethnic tensions as Serbia seeks more talks

Mediated talks over the status of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo have failed to ease tensions - fuelled by a dispute over car number plates - between Belgrade and authorities in Pristina, Serbia's president said on Friday. Aleksandar Vucic said hours of talks with European Union and U.S. envoys had failed to resolve major issues that he did not specify, and that he hoped further talks would lead to "some compromise".

Taiwan's top China policy maker to visit United States, meet officials

The head of Taiwan's China-policy-making Mainland Affairs Council will visit the United States to meet officials and speak at think-tank events to help garner international support for the island, his department said on Friday. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory against the strong objections of the democratically elected government in Taipei, launched military drills near the island after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited in early August, and those exercises have continued.

Air strike hits capital of Ethiopia's northern Tigray region - local media, aid sources

An air strike hit Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia's northern Tigray region on Friday, which local media controlled by the breakaway authorities blamed on the federal government. Tigrai Television showed images of damaged buildings and what appeared to be wounded people lying on the ground being attended to by medical personnel.