LONDON (AP) – Keir Starmer isn’t on the ballot, but the U.K. prime minister’s future is on the line in a special election on Thursday. Voters in the Makerfield district of northwest England are electing a new lawmaker, and the leading contender is Andy Burnham of the governing Labour Party.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

WASHINGTON (AP) – Taiwan needs to purchase American weapons to ensure its self-defense in the face of a growing threat from Beijing, the island’s top diplomat in the U.S. said, adding that he has seen no change in Washington’s policy toward the self-governing island that China claims as its own.

Ukraine hit a major Moscow oil refinery for a second time in a week, sending thick black clouds of smoke into the sky, and disrupted commercial flights at the city's airports in one of its biggest drone attacks of the war. Russian air defences shot down at least 194 drones headed for the city, according to Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei on early Thursday said that a planned round of talks between Iran and the United States in Switzerland on Friday has not yet been confirmed. US President Donald Trump stated that he had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran, according to AP.

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) – When Prosper Mbumba married, he expected to have only two children. But one had to be a son. Four daughters later, he and his wife were still trying. Mbumba was eager to produce a male heir according to the customary demands of his Luba people in Congo.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday his country has won key pledges of further support from world leaders in defending itself from Russia’s full-scale invasion, now in its fifth year.