World News Roundup: Ireland warns PM Johnson: no-backstop equals no-deal Brexit; Pope gives hope to Mauritians

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Hong Kong children form chains of protest as economic worries grow

Hundreds of uniformed school students, many wearing masks, formed human chains in districts across Hong Kong on Monday in support of anti-government protesters after another weekend of clashes in the Chinese-ruled city. Metro stations reopened after some were closed on Sunday amid sometimes violent confrontations, although the mood in the Asian financial hub remained tense.

Myanmar army drops lawsuit against religious leader who complained to Trump of persecution

Myanmar's army said on Monday it had dropped a criminal complaint against a religious leader who told U.S President Donald Trump the military was oppressing Christians, days after the United States voiced concern about the lawsuit. Reverend Hkalam Samson, of the Kachin Baptist Convention, an organization based in the northern Kachin state representing Myanmar's mostly Christian Kachin minority, took part in a gathering at the White House in July, when victims of religious persecution met with Trump and other U.S. officials.

More Americans will die after Trump abruptly ends Afghan talks, Taliban say

President Donald Trump's decision to cancel Afghan peace talks will cost more American lives, the Taliban said on Sunday while the United States promised to keep up military pressure on the militants, in a stunning reversal of efforts to forge a deal ending nearly 20 years of war in Afghanistan. The Islamist group issued a statement after Trump unexpectedly canceled secret talks planned for Sunday with the Taliban's major leaders at the presidential compound in Camp David, Maryland. He broke off the talks on Saturday after the Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack in Kabul last week that killed an American soldier and 11 others.

Death of an activist: unsolved murder exposes fraught outlook in Mexico

Human rights activists in Mexico had already suffered a bad year by the time 58-year-old Cristina Vazquez was murdered in her apartment in an affluent Mexico City neighborhood at the end of June. Vazquez was the 13th human rights defender in Mexico likely killed for her activism in 2019, according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), a tally almost surpassing its total for all 2018.

Ireland warns PM Johnson: no-backstop equals no-deal Brexit

Ireland told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday that he must make specific proposals on the future of Irish border if there is to be any hope of averting a no-deal Brexit, saying Dublin cannot not rely on simple promises. The blunt remarks by Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar indicate the difficulty of Johnson's gamble of using the threat of a no-deal exit to convince Germany and France that they must rewrite an exit agreement struck last November.

Pope gives hope to Mauritians who want UK to return islands

Pope Francis wrapped up his trip to Africa on Monday with a lightning visit to Mauritius, saying Mass for 100,000 people and giving hope to a movement that wants Britain to return a group of islands. Francis arrived in Mauritius, a former British colony in the Indian Ocean, to a welcome by crowds waving palm fronds as he drove past sugarcane fields on his way to the capital. He celebrated the Mass on a terraced mountainside overlooking the harbor.

Iran moves toward enriching uranium with advanced centrifuges: IAEA

Iran has begun installing more advanced centrifuges and is moving toward enriching uranium with them even though that is forbidden under its nuclear deal with major powers, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday. The 2015 deal only lets Iran produce enriched uranium with just over 5,000 of its first-generation IR-1 centrifuge machines. It can use far fewer advanced centrifuges for research but without accumulating enriched uranium.

Wider Image: Israel's settlers and the Palestinians they live among

His people's link to the land goes back to biblical times, says the comics illustrator. His neighbor, a farmer, says the land belonged to his ancestors and has been stolen. One is an Israeli settler, the other a Palestinian living across the road. Israel's settlements in the occupied West Bank are one of the most heated issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians want the area, captured by Israel in a 1967 war, for a future state.

Italy's prime minister hopes for EU harmony, economic revival

Italy's prime minister said on Monday his new coalition combining the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the pro-Europe Democratic Party (PD) would avoid rows and rancor and usher in a new wave of reforms. In a speech to parliament before a vote of confidence in his administration, Giuseppe Conte called for smoother relations with the European Union, saying he would work with Brussels to rewrite the bloc's budget rules and its immigration laws.

Mnuchin considering U.S. sanctions over Turkey's S-400 purchase

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday that the Trump administration was considering imposing sanctions on related to Turkey's purchase of the Russian-made S-400 air defense missile system, but no decisions had been made. "We're looking at that, I'm not going to make any comments on any specific decisions, but we are looking at it," Mnuchin told reporters outside the White House when asked if the Treasury was considering such sanctions. He did not specify any potential targets.

Also Read: PM Narendra Modi meets US President Donald Trump in French town of Biarritz.