World News Roundup: UK health minister Javid tests positive for COVID-19; Ethiopia's Tigray forces say they released 1,000 captured soldiers and more

Afghan special forces had been fighting to retake the main market area of Spin Boldak when Siddiqui and a senior Afghan officer were killed in what they described as Taliban crossfire, the official told Reuters. Mexico regrets U.S. judge's decision on DACA - ministry The Mexican government regrets the decision by a U.S. judge that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program violated U.S. law when it was created, a senior foreign ministry official said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

UK health minister Javid tests positive for COVID-19

British health minister Sajid Javid on Saturday said he had tested positive for COVID-19, but that his symptoms were mild and he had had two doses of vaccine against the disease. "This morning I tested positive for COVID," he said in a tweet, adding he had taken a rapid lateral flow test, and was awaiting confirmation from a PCR test, which needs processing in a laboratory.

Ethiopia's Tigray forces say they released 1,000 captured soldiers

Forces in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region have released around 1,000 government soldiers captured during recent fighting, the head of its ruling party said, as both sides prepared for a showdown over contested land in the west of the region. Debretsion Gebremichael, leader of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), told Reuters by satellite phone late on Friday that they have released 1,000 low-ranking soldiers.

China official in Hong Kong says U.S. sanctions, business advisory have 'despicable intention'

China's foreign ministry branch in Hong Kong said new U.S. sanctions on Chinese officials and its updated business advisory on the city are "extremely rude" and "extremely unreasonable" bullying acts with "despicable intention". The United States imposed sanctions on Friday on seven Chinese officials over Beijing's crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong, Washington's latest effort to hold China accountable for what it calls an erosion of rule of law in the former British colony.

Philippines' Pacquiao ousted as president of ruling party after row

Philippine senator and boxing star Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao was voted out as leader of the country's ruling party on Saturday, weeks after challenging President Rodrigo Duterte over his position on China and record on fighting corruption. Pacquiao, 42, who is seen as a possible contender to succeed Duterte in next year's presidential election, had long been among the president's strongest supporters, backing his bloody war on drugs and bid to reintroduce the death penalty.

Syria's Assad says funds frozen in Lebanese banks biggest impediment to investment

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Saturday the main impediment to investment in the country was money stuck in ailing Lebanese banks. In a speech after being sworn in as president for a fourth term, Assad said estimates suggested the frozen funds were worth between $40 billion and $60 billion.

Daughter of Afghan envoy to Pakistan briefly kidnapped - government

The daughter of Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan was briefly kidnapped and mistreated by unknown assailants, the Afghan government said on Saturday. Silsila Alikhil was on her way home when she was seized for several hours and "severely tortured", the foreign ministry said in a statement, without giving more details of Friday's abduction in Islamabad.

Death toll in rises to 157 in Germany and Belgium floods

Rescue workers searched flood-ravaged parts of Germany and Belgium for survivors on Saturday after burst rivers and flash floods this week collapsed houses and claimed at least 157 lives. "We mourn with those that have lost friends, acquaintances, family members," German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said during a visit to Erftstadt in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the disaster killed at least 43 people

Reuters journalist killed covering clash between Afghan forces, Taliban

Reuters journalist Danish Siddiqui was killed on Friday while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters near a border crossing with Pakistan, an Afghan commander said. Afghan special forces had been fighting to retake the main market area of Spin Boldak when Siddiqui and a senior Afghan officer were killed in what they described as Taliban crossfire, the official told Reuters.

Mexico regrets U.S. judge's decision on DACA - ministry

The Mexican government regrets the decision by a U.S. judge that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program violated U.S. law when it was created, a senior foreign ministry official said on Friday. The judge's decision blocked the U.S. government from approving any new DACA applications.

Colombia police say former Haiti official suspected of ordering Moise hit

Former Haitian justice ministry official Joseph Felix Badio may have ordered the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise, a Colombian police chief said on Friday, citing a preliminary investigation into the murder. Moise was shot dead when assassins armed with assault rifles stormed his private residence in the hills above Port-au-Prince on July 7.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)