World News Roundup: Moldova crisis; China extradition bill; Iran-EU economic ties and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Civil disobedience campaign empties streets of Sudan's capital

A civil disobedience campaign to demand civilian rule left the streets of Sudan's capital Khartoum largely deserted on Sunday, while police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in Khartoum North, witnesses said. Opposition and protest groups had called for workers to stay at home after security forces stormed a protest camp on Monday, killing dozens and dealing a blow to hopes of a peaceful transition after ex-President Omar al-Bashir's ouster in April.

It's business as usual at Mexico's southern border despite Trump deal

On Saturday, at the busiest crossing point along Mexico's porous southern border with Guatemala, evidence of Mexico's promised crackdown on waves of new arrivals trying to reach the United States was nowhere to be seen. Within sight of a bridge connecting Mexico to Guatemala, a fleet of about 16 rafts carried migrants hoping to escape poverty and gang-related violence in Central America.

Iran urges Europe to normalize economic ties with it or face consequences

Iran said on Sunday Europe was in no position to criticize Tehran for its military capabilities and it called on European leaders to normalize trade ties with the Islamic Republic despite U.S. sanctions, or face consequences. President Donald Trump last year withdrew the United States from world powers' 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sweeping sanctions. Trump condemned the accord, signed by his predecessor Barack Obama, as flawed for not being permanent and for not covering Iran's ballistic missile program or its role in conflicts around the Middle East.

Germany's SPD looks left for alternatives to Merkel coalition

Leading members of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) spoke out for a three-way left wing alliance as an alternative to their fragile 'grand coalition' with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives at the weekend. Turmoil within the SPD has cast doubt over the future of the government in Europe's biggest economy after the party chief quit due to dismal regional and European election results.

Factbox: How will Britain's Conservative Party choose PM May's successor?

Britain's ruling Conservative Party will decide the country's next prime minister in late July in a contest that will bring in a new leader who could pursue a cleaner break with the European Union. Theresa May resigned as the party's leader on Friday, having failed to deliver Brexit on schedule or find a way to get parliament to approve her exit plan.

Moldovan president suspended, snap election called as crisis deepens

A Moldovan court temporarily relieved President Igor Dodon of his duties on Sunday to allow a stand-in to call a snap election, deepening a standoff between rival political parties over the formation of a new government after months of deadlock. Dodon's replacement, former prime minister Pavel Filip, immediately announced a snap election for September, while thousands of supporters of Filip's party rallied in the capital, Chisinau.

UK's Johnson baulks at Brexit cost as leadership race hots up

Boris Johnson, the leading candidate to succeed Theresa May as Britain's prime minister, said on Sunday he would withhold an already agreed 39-billion-pound ($49.6 billion) Brexit payment until the European Union gives Britain better withdrawal terms. Johnson is one of 11 lawmakers vying to run the world's fifth largest economy after May resigned as leader of the governing Conservatives on Friday, having failed to unite parliament or the country behind her Brexit plan.

Hundreds of thousands march in Hong Kong to protest China extradition bill

Several hundred thousand people jammed Hong Kong's streets on Sunday in the biggest rally for years to thwart a proposed extradition law that would allow suspects to be sent to mainland China to face trial. Organizers said their initial estimates put the turnout at well over half a million people, saying it outstripped a demonstration in 2003 when 500,000 hit the streets to challenge government plans for tighter national security laws.

India's Modi visits bombed Sri Lanka church, vows support after attacks

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday honored those killed by Islamist militants in Sri Lanka's Easter bombings, vowing support for the island nation as Delhi seeks to counter the rise of China in the region. The hours-long stop in Sri Lanka was part of Modi's first overseas trip after winning a second term. He arrived from the Maldives, where on Saturday he called for a global conference to tackle the threat of terrorism.

Mexico holds off Trump's fire, but seen vulnerable to new pressure

Mexico avoided the most extreme immigration concession sought by U.S. President Donald Trump in the deal reached to fend off threatened tariffs, but it is left even weaker than before in the face of potential new pressure from Trump as he formally kicks off his reelection campaign this month. Under the deal reached on Friday, Mexico agreed to use a large part of its newly formed National Guard to hold back immigrants crossing from Guatemala, and to take in possibly tens of thousands of people seeking asylum in the United States while their cases are adjudicated.