Reuters World News Summary

Humanitarian sources and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the area, said a university in Mekelle was hit by the strike. Colombia nabs Otoniel, drug kingpin and gang leader -government Colombia's armed forces have captured Dairo Antonio Usuga, known as Otoniel, in the biggest blow to drug trafficking in the Andean country since the death of Pablo Escobar, President Ivan Duque said on Saturday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Separatists end week-long blockade of hotel housing OSCE in eastern Ukraine

Russian-backed separatists on Saturday called off a protest outside a hotel in eastern Ukraine housing international conflict monitors, ending a blockade sparked by the capture of a separatist officer by Ukrainian government forces. Monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) had been confined to their hotel in the separatist-held city of Donetsk for more than a week and had to suspend their patrolling mission.

Gang shootout in northern Mexico leaves four dead -officials

A car chase and shootout between gang members and law enforcement near Mexico's northern border left three members of the powerful Gulf Cartel dead along with one bystander, officials said on Saturday. The incident began on Friday evening in the border city of Matamoros, when military and police officers attempted to halt several suspicious vehicles, officials from the northern state of Tamaulipas said in a statement.

Turkey to expel US envoy and nine others, Erdogan says

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that he had told his foreign ministry to expel the ambassadors of the United States and nine other Western countries for demanding the release of philanthropist Osman Kavala. Seven of the ambassadors represent Turkey's NATO allies and the expulsions, if carried out, would open the deepest rift with the West in Erdogan's 19 years in power.

UK says substantial differences remain with EU over Northern Ireland trade

The United Kingdom said on Saturday that talks with the European Union over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland had been constructive, but substantial differences remained. Goods moving between Britain and Northern Ireland currently face customs checks, as part of a deal reached before Brexit to avoid more contentious border checks between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and EU member Ireland.

New migrant caravan in Mexico pushes past blockade to head north

Several thousand migrants from Haiti, South America and Central America set off from southern Mexico headed north on Saturday, clashing with law enforcement trying to hold the caravan back. Some people among the latest mass movement of migrants trying to pass north through Mexico said they hoped to eventually reach the U.S. border, where the number of migrants trying to gain entry was already hitting new records.

Afghanistan hurtling towards collapse, Sweden and Pakistan say

Afghanistan will shortly collapse into chaos unless the international community acts rapidly, Swedish and Pakistani ministers warned on Saturday. Afghanistan plunged into crisis after the hardline Islamist Taliban movement drove out the Western-backed government in August triggering the abrupt end of billions of dollars in assistance to its aid-dependent economy.

Hungary's Orban accuses Brussels, Washington of meddling as 2022 election race heats up

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who faces a close election race next year, accused Brussels and Washington of trying to meddle in Hungarian politics and called on his supporters to defend the achievements of his nationalist government's decade in power. For the first time since he came to power in 2010, Orban will face a united front of opposition parties including the Socialists, liberals and the formerly far-right, now centre-right, Jobbik in 2022 parliamentary elections.

Seven prisoners found dead in Ecuador jail affected by riots

Ecuador's SNAI prison authority has found the bodies of seven prisoners in the same jail where violence between gangs lead to the deaths of 119 inmates last month, it said on Saturday. The seven bodies were found in the Penitenciaria del Litoral, located in the southern city of Guayaquil, which has become Ecuador's most violent prison.

U.N. plane aborts landing as air strike hits Ethiopia's Tigray

An Ethiopian government air strike on the capital of the northern Tigray region on Friday forced a U.N. flight carrying aid workers to abort a landing there, the United Nations said. Humanitarian sources and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the area, said a university in Mekelle was hit by the strike.

Colombia nabs Otoniel, drug kingpin and gang leader -government

Colombia's armed forces have captured Dairo Antonio Usuga, known as Otoniel, in the biggest blow to drug trafficking in the Andean country since the death of Pablo Escobar, President Ivan Duque said on Saturday. Otoniel, 50 , was captured during operation Osiris in a rural area of Colombia's Uraba region, located in Antioquia province. He is accused of sending dozens of shipments of cocaine to the United States, and Duque said he is also accused of killing police officers, recruiting minors, and sexually abusing children among other crimes.

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