World News Roundup: Football returns to war-torn Ukraine as Shakhtar draw with Metalist 1925; From PM to prison: Malaysia's Najib feels alone and overwhelmed by 'betrayal' and more

China staged war games near Taiwan to express its anger at what it saw as stepped up U.S. support for the island Beijing views as sovereign Chinese territory. Malaysian ex-PM Najib goes to jail for graft after losing final appeal Malaysia's top court ordered former prime minister Najib Razak to begin a 12-year prison sentence on Tuesday after upholding a guilty conviction on charges related to a multi-billion dollar graft scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Football returns to war-torn Ukraine as Shakhtar draw with Metalist 1925

Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist 1925 played out a 0-0 draw in Kyiv’s empty Olympic Stadium on Tuesday as competitive football returned to war-torn Ukraine with the start of the country’s new Premier League season. The opening matches of the campaign have been timed to coincide with Ukraine's Day of the National Flag and provide a further show of resistance following Russia’s February invasion that brought a premature end to last season’s championship.

From PM to prison: Malaysia's Najib feels alone and overwhelmed by 'betrayal'

Having played golf with U.S. presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak will now count convicted murderers and drug traffickers as neighbors. The Federal Court ordered Najib to begin a 12-year prison sentence on Tuesday after upholding a conviction on charges related to a multi-billion dollar graft scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

U.S. urges citizens to leave Ukraine as fears grow of Russian attacks on capital

The United States on Tuesday urged its citizens to leave Ukraine, saying it believed Russia was preparing to target civilian and government infrastructure in the next few days as the war reaches the six-month mark. The warning followed a ban by the Ukrainian government on celebrations in the capital Kyiv on Wednesday's anniversary of independence from Soviet rule due to fears of attack.

Finnish PM apologizes for party picture from official residence

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Tuesday apologized for a picture that emerged from a private party she had thrown at her official residence in July, following a public stir over her partying in the past week. On Monday, a drug test taken by the prime minister, one of the youngest world leaders, came back negative. It was taken to assuage concerns after video footage was published last week showing her singing and dancing with Finnish celebrities at another party.

Twitter removes rape video posted by Italy's Meloni

Twitter removed on Tuesday a video of a Ukrainian woman being raped by a migrant in an Italian city that was posted by far-right leader Giorgia Meloni, who is leading the race to become Italy's next prime minister. Meloni tweeted the blurred video, which was originally published on a newspaper website, late on Sunday, saying she could not remain silent in the face of "this atrocious episode of sexual violence".

Six months into the war, Ukrainian refugee agonizes about returning

Tatiana Afansieva dreams of returning to Ukraine from her life of exile in Poland, but even though her neighbors back home in Kryvyi Rih tell her Russian shelling there has stopped, she is too afraid. "People tell me that it looks normal, life goes on, people go to work," Afansieva, 34, told Reuters from her room in a flat she shares with a Polish woman who wanted to help refugees in Poznan, western Poland.

Rohingya crisis fund is 'well short of needs' - UN refugee agency

An appeal to help Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh is "well short of needs", the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday, as refugees called on donors not to forget the crisis ahead of the fifth anniversary of their exodus from Myanmar. More than a million Rohingya are living in squalid camps in southern Bangladesh comprising the world's largest refugee settlement, with little prospect of returning to Myanmar, where they are mostly denied citizenship and other rights.

Taiwan warns China of 'heavy price' for invasion on battle anniversary

Taiwan is determined to defend itself and invaders will incur a "heavy price", President Tsai Ing-wen said on Tuesday on the anniversary of a confrontation six decade ago in which Taiwanese forces beat back Chinese attackers. Tensions between Taiwan and China have spiked over the past month following the visit to Taipei by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. China staged war games near Taiwan to express its anger at what it saw as stepped-up U.S. support for the island Beijing views as sovereign Chinese territory.

Malaysian ex-PM Najib goes to jail for graft after losing final appeal

Malaysia's top court ordered former prime minister Najib Razak to begin a 12-year prison sentence on Tuesday after upholding a guilty conviction on charges related to a multi-billion dollar graft scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The Federal Court ruling caps the stunning downfall of Najib, who until four years ago governed Malaysia with an iron grip and suppressed local investigations of the 1MDB scandal that has implicated financial institutions and high-ranking officials worldwide.

Exclusive: Iran has dropped some demands for nuclear deal - U.S. official

Iran has dropped some of its main demands on resurrecting a deal to rein in Tehran's nuclear program, including its insistence that international inspectors close some probes of its atomic program, bringing the possibility of an agreement closer, a senior U.S. official told Reuters on Monday. The United States aims to respond soon to a draft agreement proposed by the European Union that would bring back the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that former President Donald Trump abandoned and current President Joe Biden has sought to revive.