World briefs

CAMBODIA Six union leaders yesterday each received suspended 2 1/2-year prison terms in connection with labor protests about five years ago in which four garment workers were killed and around 20 others hurt.

PHILIPPINES For over a century, the Bells of Balangiga have not rung in the Philippines, a silence that the president last year called “painful.” Yesterday, a giant U.S. Air Force cargo aircraft brought the Bells of Balangiga back to the Philippine capital in a poignant ceremony. 

US-JAPAN The U.S. military said yesterday that five missing crew members have been declared dead after their refueling plane collided with a fighter jet last week off Japan’s southern coast, and that search and recovery operations have ended after finding only one survivor.

RUSSIA Kremlin officials and Russia’s opposition yesterday gathered to pay tribute to Russia’s most prominent human rights activist, Lyudmila Alexeyeva, who died at age 91. A staunch and uncompromising rights advocate, Alexeyeva made a name for herself protesting the treatment of Soviet political prisoners.

LEBANON’s president said yesterday that Israel’s operation to destroy what it says is a series of cross-border attack tunnels built by the militant Hezbollah group won’t endanger the calm along the frontier, adding that his country takes the issue seriously.

TURKEY A police officer angered that his request for a transfer was rejected fired shots at his superiors inside a police station in northern Turkey yesterday, killing the local police chief and wounding two other officers.

FRANCE Tax relief and other fiscal measures announced by French President Emmanuel Macron to try to calm nationwide protests will cost 8-10 billion euros (MOP73-91 billion), the government said yesterday.

BRITAIN Top European Union officials yesterday ruled out any renegotiation of the divorce agreement with Britain, as Prime Minister Theresa May fought to save her Brexit deal by lobbying leaders in Europe’s capitals. 

SPAIN’s central government says it will send in national police to ensure security in Catalonia if regional authorities fail to stop recent disruptions to major highways by pro-independence protesters.

BRAZIL Researchers from Brazil’s National Museum said they had recovered more than 1,500 pieces from the debris following a massive fire.

VENEZUELA Socialist President Nicolas Maduro further consolidated power in Venezuelan local elections, while accusing President Donald Trump of plotting to overthrow him.