Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

China calls Hong Kong people arrested at sea ‘separatists’

The 12 Hong Kong people arrested at sea by mainland authorities last month were separatists, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry said on Sunday, in response to her U.S. counterpart’s characterisation of the arrest as a deterioration of human rights. The comment came a day after relatives of the detainees held a news conference in Hong Kong demanding the urgent return of the 12 who were intercepted by the Guangdong coast guard on Aug. 23 on a boat bound for Taiwan.

Belarus authorities close off central square in Minsk, detain protesters

Authorities in Belarus used barbed wire to seal off a central square in the capital Minsk and started to detain protesters as they took to the streets for another march on Sunday following the country’s disputed elections last month. A Reuters witness saw a column of people numbering at least 10,000 moving towards Independence Square on Sunday, where the government and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko sit. Exclusive:

Thailand tells universities to stop students’ calls for monarchy reform

Thai authorities have summoned the heads of universities to tell them to stop students demanding reform of the monarchy, warning that such calls could lead to violence, a member of the military-appointed Senate said on Sunday. Thailand has faced near daily protests since mid-July calling for the departure of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader, and for a new constitution and elections.

Russia votes in test of ruling party’s grip, Navalny supporters defiant

Russians went to the polls on Sunday in local elections being scrutinised for signs of discontent with the ruling United Russia party following the suspected poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Navalny, 44, had urged Russians to vote tactically against the ruling party in a bid to undermine its tight grip on power before he fell gravely ill in what Germany and his allies say was an attempt to kill him last month.

Gazans living on Emirates-funded estate rue normalisation deal with Israel

For two decades Palestinians have revered the founder of the United Arab Emirates for his generosity, especially those living on the Gaza housing estate that bears his name. The $62 million development was gifted to the Palestinians a decade and a half ago by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who died in 2004, to provide homes for hundreds of families.

Afghan forces, Taliban continue to clash even as peace talks start

Taliban and Afghan government forces clashed across Afghanistan hours after the start of long-awaited peace talks in Doha on Saturday, officials said, underscoring the uphill challenge of settling a 19-year insurgency. Talks between the two sides were to begin shortly after a U.S.-Taliban agreement in February, but began only over the weekend after months of delays, caused in part by continuing Taliban offensives in the war-torn country. ‘Shocking’: Blair, Major chide UK plan to breach international law

Former prime ministers Tony Blair and John Major on Sunday said Britain must drop a “shocking” plan to pass legislation that breaks its divorce treaty with the European Union, in a breach of international law. The British government said explicitly last week that it plans to break international law by breaching parts of the Withdrawal Agreement treaty that it signed in January, when it formally left the EU.

Greek PM promises permanent migrant centre after fire on Lesbos

Greece will build a permanent migrant reception centre on Lesbos to replace the overcrowded refugee camp destroyed by a fire last week, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday, calling for closer European involvement. The fire at the Moria reception centre last week left more than 12,000 people without shelter, forcing most to sleep out in the open without proper sanitation or access to food and water, and pushed the migration issue back up the European agenda.

Libyan medics already faced war, now the pandemic is surging there too

As the pandemic started to rage through Libya last month, medics working in the war-ravaged country’s few functioning hospitals faced their nightmare scenario – a surge in cases and dwindling resources. Hamza Abdulrahman Jelwal, 35, a supervising nurse at a quarantine centre in the coastal city of Misrata, has not seen his family since Libya’s lockdown began in March. He has also not been paid.

Macron calls Lebanese politician as cabinet deadline looms

French President Emmanuel Macron has held a call with Lebanon’s parliamentary speaker to try to remove an obstacle to meeting this week’s deadline for forming a new government to drag the nation out of crisis, a Lebanese politician said on Sunday. Speaker Nabih Berri leads the Amal Movement, a Shi’ite Muslim party allied to the powerful Hezbollah group.