World News Roundup: UK PM Johnson tells EU: ditch backstop or face no-deal Brexit; Tunisia bids farewell to president Essebsi

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Iran missile tests defensive, Fars news agency cites Iranian military source as saying

Iran's missile tests are part of the country's defensive needs and are not directed against any country, and Tehran does not need any power's permission, the semi-official news agency Fars on Saturday quoted an Iranian military source as saying. A U.S. defense official said on Thursday that Iran tested what appeared to be a medium-range ballistic missile on Wednesday that traveled about 1,000 km (620 miles). The test did not pose a threat to shipping or any U.S. personnel in the region, the official said.

Turkey says it 'neutralized' 34 PKK militants in air strikes on July 17-19

Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Saturday it had "neutralized" 34 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq in airstrikes on July 17-19. Sixteen militants were "neutralized" in airstrikes on northern Iraq's Qandil region on July 17, and 18 in airstrikes on the Karacak region on July 19, it said. The ministry commonly uses the term "neutralized" to refer to those killed but it can also refer to those wounded or captured.

Guatemala agrees to new migration measures to avoid Trump sanctions threat

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he agreed to drop the threat of economic sanctions against Guatemala after the country said it would implement new measures aimed at reducing U.S. asylum claims from migrants fleeing Honduras and El Salvador. The Trump administration has grappled with a surge of mainly Central American migrants claiming asylum at the United States' southern border with Mexico, an influx that has made it difficult for Trump to restrict immigration as he promised when he was elected.

Sudan says 87 killed when security forces broke up protest in June

The head of a Sudanese investigative committee said on Saturday that 87 people were killed and 168 wounded on June 3 when a sit-in protest was violently broken up by security forces. Fath al-Rahman Saeed, the head of the committee, told a news conference that 17 of those killed were in the square occupied by protesters and 48 of the wounded were hit by bullets.

Northern Ireland police say Republicans failed in attack on officers

Police in Northern Ireland said on Saturday they believed that dissident Republicans tried to kill police officers in an incident overnight. Police said they received a report around midnight of a loud bang in the town of Craigavon shortly before a Belfast-based newspaper took a telephone call claiming that a device had been fired at a police patrol but had missed its target.

Police fire tear gas in clash with Hong Kong protesters over banned march

Police fired tear gas during clashes in a rural Hong Kong town on Saturday as several thousand activists gathered to protest an attack by suspected triad gang members on protesters and commuters at a train station last weekend. Police, widely criticized for failing to better protect the public from the attack by club-wielding men in Yuen Long, had refused to allow the march in the town on safety grounds.

Tunisia bids farewell to president Essebsi at state funeral

Tunisia will bid farewell to its first democratically elected president Beji Caid Essebsi on Saturday at a state funeral attended by foreign leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron. Essebsi, who helped guide the North African country's transition to democracy after the 2011 revolution, died aged 92 on Thursday.

Russian police detain 317 people over election protest: monitor

Russian police detained 317 people on Saturday, including prominent opposition activists, around a political protest in Moscow which authorities had declared illegal. Jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny had called for the protest, near the Moscow mayor's office, to pressure authorities to allow opposition-minded candidates to run in a Sept. 8 local vote in Moscow, which they have been barred from.

UK PM Johnson tells EU: ditch backstop or face no-deal Brexit

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson cautioned the European Union on Saturday that the "anti-democratic" Irish backstop must be ditched if they were to strike a Brexit divorce deal. Johnson, since taking office on Wednesday, has repeatedly said that if the EU continues to refuse to renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement agreed by his predecessor Theresa May, then he will take Britain out on Oct.

31 without a deal. Oman's top diplomat in Iran talks amid mounting Gulf tensions

Oman's minister responsible for foreign affairs held talks with Iran's foreign minister on Saturday, Iranian state media reported, as tensions mount in the Gulf after Tehran detained a British-flagged oil tanker. Oman maintains friendly ties with both the United States and Iran and has previously been a go-between for the two countries, which severed diplomatic relations after the 1979 Iranian revolution.

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