World News Roundup: Death toll reached 20 on Afghan attack; Beijing reiterates support for Hong Kong's Lam, police

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Four students shot dead at Sudan protest: opposition medics

At least four school children and one adult were shot dead as security services broke up a protest in the Sudanese city of El-Obeid on Monday, campaigners said. A group of doctors linked to the opposition said the five were hit during a demonstration by high school pupils in the main city in Sudan's North Kordofan state.

China to conduct military drills in waters near Taiwan

China's military is holding exercises this week in waters near Taiwan, China's maritime safety agency said days after Beijing reiterated it was ready to fight if there was any move towards independence for the self-ruled island. The agency did not say when the exercises would be held or what type of forces would be involved but it placed an area off the coast of Guangdong and Fujian provinces, west of Taiwan, off-limits from 6 a.m. on Monday (2200 GMT Sunday) to 6 p.m. on Friday (1000 GMT), due to military activity.

Rape accuser of Indian ruling party lawmaker battles for life after accident

Indian police were investigating on Monday a highway collision that critically injured a woman who had accused a legislator of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of rape, a police officer said. The case against the lawmaker in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh has been an embarrassment for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP since 2018, after the woman tried to kill herself, saying police had refused to register her complaint.

Russian opposition leader Navalny in satisfactory condition: hospital

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was hospitalized over the weekend after suffering an acute allergic reaction, is in a satisfactory condition, a hospital representative said on Monday. Navalny, 43, was rushed to hospital on Sunday from jail where he is serving a 30-day sentence for violating tough protest laws, a day after police in Moscow detained more than 1,000 people for an illegal demonstration called for by Navalny.

Iran's foreign policy is to confront American hegemony: Iran vice president

Iran's foreign policy is to confront American hegemony and protect multilateralism, Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said on Monday, adding that its reduction of commitments under a nuclear deal could be reversed if other parties upheld their side of the agreement. Iran and the United States came to the brink of war last month after the Islamic Republic shot down a U.S. drone, nearly prompting a retaliatory attack, which U.S. President Donald Trump called off at the last minute.

UK plays Brexit hardball with 'stubborn' EU, pound tumbles to a 28-month low

Sterling slid to a 28-month low on Monday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government said it now assumed there would be a no-deal Brexit because a "stubborn" European Union was refusing to renegotiate their divorce. Many investors say a no-deal Brexit would send shock waves through the world economy, tip Britain's economy into a recession, roil financial markets and weaken London's position as the pre-eminent international financial center.

Beijing reiterates support for Hong Kong's Lam, police

China reiterated on Monday its support for Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, and its police, and called on Hong Kong people to oppose violence following another weekend of clashes between protesters and police in the city. Hong Kong bore the scars on Monday of its eighth straight weekend of violent protests, with hard hats, umbrellas and water bottles littering some central streets.

Death toll from attack on Afghan VP candidate's office rises to 20

The death toll from a suicide attack on the Kabul office of Amrullah Saleh, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's running mate in September elections, reached 20 with at least 50 wounded, officials said on Monday as cleanup operations began. Saleh, a former intelligence chief and security adviser who is running for vice president with Ghani, was slightly wounded in Sunday's attack on the office of his Green Trends party in central Kabul.

Russian-backed government forces recover area in northwestern Syria

Syrian government forces have recovered control of two villages in northwestern Syria from rebel fighters who withdrew following intensive air and artillery bombardment, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday. Rebel fighters captured the villages of al-Jabin and Tel Melah in northern Hama province in early June during a counter-attack against government forces that have been waging a Russian-backed offensive in the area since late April.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards publish purported exchange with British warship during British tanker seizure

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards published footage on Monday purportedly showing the Guards warning off a British warship during their July 19 seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Tasnim news agency. "You are required not to interfere in these issues," the Guards navy representative says in the recording published by Tasnim.

Also Read: Amrullah Saleh survives major attack on his residence in Kabul