World News Roundup: Pakistan opposition leader Maryam Nawaz arrested in graft probe; U.S. raises travel warning for Hong Kong over growing civil unrest

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Japan, led by less apologetic generation, stays tough in South Korea feud

When Yohei Kono made a landmark 1993 apology to "comfort women", many of them Koreans, forced to work in wartime military brothels, Japan's then-chief cabinet secretary spoke for a moderate conservative mainstream seeking to reconcile with Asian neighbors. A quarter-century later, Kono's son, Taro, now foreign minister, is on the front lines of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's escalating feud over compensation for South Koreans forced to work in wartime Japanese mines and factories, an unresolved legacy of the two countries' bitter past.

UK PM Johnson to hold election soon after Brexit if lawmakers sink government: FT

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold an election in the days following Brexit if lawmakers sink his government with a vote of no-confidence, the FT reported on Thursday, citing unidentified senior aides to the prime minister. The FT said his aides expect he will face a confidence vote soon after parliament returns from its summer break.

Turkey will not allow safe zone agreement to be delayed: foreign minister

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday Turkey will not allow the safe zone process it is working on with the United States to be delayed, and suffer the same fate as an agreement on the Syrian town of Manbij. The Manbij roadmap was an agreement made between the NATO allies last year, dictating a complete withdrawal of the Kurdish YPG militia from the town. Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist organisation.

Radiation briefly spikes in Russian city after rocket engine explosion: TASS

A short-term spike in radiation levels was recorded in a northern Russian city after a rocket engine exploded at a military testing site on Thursday, TASS news agency cited a spokeswoman for city authorities in Severodvinsk as saying. The explosion of a liquid-propellant rocket engine killed two people on Thursday in Russia's northern Arkhangelsk region, but released no dangerous substances into the atmosphere, RIA news agency had earlier cited the Defence Ministry as saying.

U.S. raises travel warning for Hong Kong over growing civil unrest

The United States raised its travel warning for Hong Kong, urging travelers to exercise increased caution in the Chinese territory due to what it termed civil unrest after months of sometimes violent street protests. The protests in the Asian financial hub began with opposition to a now-suspended extradition law and have evolved into a direct challenge to the government and calls for full democracy.

Japan to resume effort to tackle contaminated water problem at Fukushima

Japan is resuming efforts to disperse a build-up of contaminated water at Tokyo Electric Power's wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant that is stalling progress on cleaning up the site, the government said on Thursday. A panel of experts will meet on Friday for the first time in eight months to consider options to get rid of the water, Japan's government said in briefing documents it released.

Pakistan opposition leader Maryam Nawaz arrested in graft probe

Pakistan's anti-corruption bureau arrested opposition leader Maryam Nawaz on Thursday, the agency and a spokeswoman for her political party said, the latest high-profile detention of a member of the Sharif political dynasty. The daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was arrested with her cousin, Yousaf Abbas while attempting to visit her father at a jail in the city of Lahore, where he is being held after being convicted of graft.

Russia freezes bank accounts linked to opposition politician Navalny

Russian authorities on Thursday froze a slew of bank accounts linked to jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny as part of a money-laundering investigation that his allies say is a trumped-up attempt to cripple his political movement. The move comes ahead of a series of planned nationwide demonstrations on Saturday being organized by Navalny's allies to protest against the exclusion of opposition candidates from a Moscow election next month.

At least 300 Kashmiri politicians detained to quell protests over status

Indian authorities have detained at least 300 politicians and separatists to quell protests in Kashmir over the withdrawal of its special status, a police officer, local leaders and media said on Thursday, in one of the biggest crackdowns in years. Since Sunday, the government has shut down mobile networks, the internet and banned public gatherings in the largest city Srinagar after stripping the Muslim majority region of the right to make its own laws and lifting a decades-old ban on people from outside the state from buying property there.

South Africa's Ramaphosa wins court case against anti-graft watchdog

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa won a court case against the anti-corruption watchdog on Thursday over a matter concerning ally Pravin Gordhan, ahead of a fresh battle over findings against the president himself. A high court judge found that Ramaphosa had acted reasonably in not immediately disciplining Gordhan, the public enterprises' minister, over a decision regarding the retirement of a tax official in 2010.

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