World News Roundup: Bashir arrives at corruption trial; Schools deserted in Kashmir and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Sudan's ex-president Bashir arrives at corruption trial

Sudan's ousted president Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Monday arrived amid heavy security at the courthouse in the capital Khartoum where he is facing corruption charges, a Reuters witness said. Bashir is charged with illicit possession of foreign currency and accepting gifts in an unofficial manner, prosecutor Alaa al-Din Abdallah said in June.

Schools deserted in Indian Kashmir as parents fear more unrest

Schools reopened in Indian Kashmir's main city on Monday but most classrooms were empty as parents kept their children home, fearing unrest over the government's decision two weeks ago to revoke the region's autonomy. Some 190 primary schools were set open in Srinagar in a sign of normalcy returning to Muslim majority Jammu and Kashmir where authorities started to ease restrictions on movement last week.

No shellfire or bullets, but war still intrudes on tiny Syrian island

In the years before Syria's war the boatmakers of Arwad used to sell their wooden vessels along the Mediterranean coast down to Lebanon and up to Turkey, but the trade has withered. The tiny island is one of the few places in Syria physically untouched by eight years of conflict, its only direct brush with war being the distant boom and sight of smoke from an explosion on the mainland in 2016.

Recall UK parliament to tackle Brexit crisis, opposition Labour Party says

Britain's parliament needs to be recalled immediately to discuss Brexit, the opposition Labour Party's finance spokesman John McDonnell said on Monday, after leaked official documents forecast possible food, fuel, and medicine shortages. Britain has less than 74 days to resolve a three-year crisis that is pitting the country against the EU, its closest trade partner, and parliament against the executive. The outcome will mark its most significant geopolitical move since World War Two.

Turkey ousts three Kurdish mayors for suspected militant links, launches security operation

Turkey on Monday replaced Kurdish mayors with state officials in three cities and detained more than 400 people for suspected militant links, the Interior Ministry said, a move likely to fuel tensions in the mainly Kurdish southeast. The ministry also said it had launched an operation with some 2,300 commandos against militant fighters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in southeastern provinces.

A WW2 battle reverberates in Poland's national election campaign

A monument to a battle fought in the opening days of World War Two has become a new frontline in the fight between Poland's ruling nationalists and the liberal opposition in the countdown to a parliamentary election on Oct. 13. The granite column that towers over the Baltic port of Gdansk commemorate the seven-day siege of Westerplatte in September 1939, when dozens of Polish soldiers defied the overwhelming firepower of a Nazi German naval fleet.

More mass protests planned in Hong Kong after peaceful weekend of rallies

Hong Kong is gearing up for more protests this week after hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators braved heavy rain to rally peacefully on Sunday, marking a change to what have often been violent clashes. Sunday's turnout of an estimated 1.7 million, according to the rally's organizer, showed that the movement still has broad-based support despite chaotic scenes last week when protesters occupied the Chinese-ruled city's airport, for which some activists apologized.

Iran tanker heads to Greece after release, Iran warns U.S against seizure attempt

An Iranian tanker sailed through the Mediterranean toward Greece on Monday after it was released from detention off Gibraltar, and Tehran said that any at U.S. move to seize the vessel again would have "heavy consequences". The Grace 1, renamed the Adrian Darya 1, left anchorage off Gibraltar about 11 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Sunday. Refinitiv ship tracking data showed on Monday that the vessel was heading to Kalamata in Greece and was scheduled to arrive next Sunday at 0000 GMT.

Spain offers ports to stranded migrant boat but chastises Italy

Spain on Monday repeated its offer to allow 107 migrants stranded for more than two weeks in the Mediterranean to land in a Spanish port but it criticized Italy for barring them from coming ashore on an Italian island. The Spanish charity and rescue ship Open Arms said earlier on Monday that Madrid and Rome appeared to have struck a deal for the migrants to disembark on Spain's Mallorca island, but the Spanish government denied reaching any such agreement.

Afghanistan blasts wound dozens on Independence Day

A series of bombings struck restaurants and public squares on Monday in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, wounding at least 66 people, officials said, as the country marked the 100th anniversary of its independence. No group claimed responsibility for the 10 bombs but both Islamic State (IS) and the Taliban militants operate in the area.

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