World News Roundup: UK minister apologises for urging people not to 'cower from' COVID; Australians may face longer lockdown after "reckless" mass protests and more

Javid, who replaced Matt Hancock as health minister last month after his predecessor stepped down for breaking COVID rules by kissing an aide in his office, had been criticised for using the word "cower" when tens of thousands in Britain have died from the virus and many are trying to keep safe. Australians may face longer lockdown after "reckless" mass protests Australia's New South Wales logged its second-highest daily increase of the year in locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Sunday amid fears of a wave of new infections after thousands of people joined an anti-lockdown protest.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

UK minister apologises for urging people not to 'cower from' COVID

British health minister Sajid Javid apologised for and deleted a tweet urging people to take a COVID-19 vaccine and not to "cower" from the virus, saying on Sunday he had made "a poor choice of word". Javid, who replaced Matt Hancock as health minister last month after his predecessor stepped down for breaking COVID rules by kissing an aide in his office, had been criticised for using the word "cower" when tens of thousands in Britain have died from the virus and many are trying to keep safe.

Australians may face longer lockdown after "reckless" mass protests

Australia's New South Wales logged its second-highest daily increase of the year in locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Sunday amid fears of a wave of new infections after thousands of people joined an anti-lockdown protest. "In relation to yesterday's protests, can I say how absolutely disgusted I was. It broke my heart," Gladys Berejiklian, the premier of the country's most populous state, told reporters.

Indonesia, Asia's COVID epicentre, extends curbs by a week

Indonesia extended its COVID-19 restrictions by a week to Aug. 2 to try to curb infections, President Joko Widodo announced on Sunday, after the government said it would add more intensive care units amid a rise in deaths. Indonesia has become Asia's COVID-19 epicentre with hospitals deluged, particularly on the densely populated island of Java and on Bali, where oxygen supplies are running thin.

Laughing in flood town was stupid, says Germany's Laschet as gaffe hits ratings

Germany's conservative candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor apologised on Sunday for laughing on a visit to a flood-stricken town last week, a gaffe that has hit his ratings two months before a federal election. Armin Laschet's conservative bloc is around 10 points ahead of the Greens in most polls, but his lapse last weekend at Erftstadt, when he was caught on camera laughing at a joke while the country's president was giving a sombre speech, has cost him.

Free speech or secession? "Liberate Hong Kong" at heart of landmark case

Three Hong Kong judges will rule on Tuesday whether the protest slogan "Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our Times" is a call for secession when they deliver a verdict on charges against a man arrested at a demonstration last year. The landmark ruling could have long-term implications for how a national security law that China imposed on its freest city a year ago against secession, terrorism, subversion and collusion with foreign forces reshapes its common law traditions, some legal scholars say.

Protests across Tunisia as COVID-19 surges and economy suffers

Hundreds of protesters rallied in the Tunisian capital and other cities on Sunday demanding the government step down after a spike in COVID-19 cases that has aggravated economic troubles. In Tunis, police used pepper spray against protesters who threw stones and shouted slogans demanding that Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi quit and parliament be dissolved.

Merkel aide warns virus surge in Germany may mean curbs for unvaccinated

Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff said on Sunday he fears the number of new coronavirus cases in Germany could soar to 100,000 a day in about two months unless many more people get vaccinated and those who refuse may face restrictions. His suggestion quickly hit resistance from several senior politicians including Armin Laschet, conservative candidate to succeed Merkel as chancellor in a Sept. 26 election.

Kidnappers in Nigeria release 28 schoolchildren, another 81 still held, says negotiator

Kidnappers who raided a boarding school in northern Nigeria earlier this month released 28 children on Sunday but another 81 remain in captivity, according to a pastor involved in the negotiations for their release. The attack on the Bethel Baptist High School in the state of Kaduna was the 10th mass school kidnapping since December in northwest Nigeria carried out by Islamist militants and more recently, criminal gangs.

Putin says Russian navy can carry out 'unpreventable strike' if needed

The Russian navy can detect any enemy and launch an "unpreventable strike" if needed, President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday, weeks after a UK warship angered Moscow by passing the Crimea peninsula. "We are capable of detecting any underwater, above-water, airborne enemy and, if required, carry out an unpreventable strike against it," Putin said speaking at a navy day parade in St Petersburg.

Shanghai region braces for typhoon In-fa after flooding in central China

China's commercial hub Shanghai and neighbouring coastal regions cancelled all flights, slowed or suspended subway trains and shuttered businesses as Typhoon In-fa made landfall on Sunday, bringing flooding and felling around 1,000 trees. The typhoon landed in the Putuo district of the city of Zhoushan, a major port in the east coast province of Zhejiang, at 12:30 p.m. (0430 GMT) on Sunday, state broadcaster CCTV said, citing the China Meteorological Administration.