World briefs

THAILAND About 200 protesters staged a rare demonstration yesterday in military-ruled Thailand, demanding that there be no further delays in holding elections, which were expected next month but have been put in doubt.

SINGAPORE-MALAYSIA Officials from Singapore and Malaysia met yesterday and agreed to resolve disputes over airspace and territorial waters that have driven a wedge between the Southeast Asian neighbors. 

INDIA’s lower house of Parliament approved a bill yesterday that would grant residency and citizenship rights to non-Muslims who entered India illegally, allegedly after fleeing persecution in several neighboring nations.

SYRIA A top Syrian Kurdish official said yesterday his fighters are prepared to confront Turkish forces if they enter northeastern Syria, adding that it’s clear from Ankara’s latest statements that Turkey has a plan to invade the region.

ISRAEL In what was billed as a “dramatic announcement,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a prime-time address to again dismiss a series of corruption allegations against him.

SOUTH AFRICA A former Mozambican finance minister yesterday appeared in a South African court following a U.S. extradition request linked to a USD2 billion loan scandal that plunged Mozambique into financial crisis.

EUROPE Deadly winter weather blasted Europe for yet another day yesterday, trapping hundreds of people in Alpine regions, whipping up high winds that caused flight delays and cancellations and raising the risks of more deadly avalanches in the mountains.

GREECE Police detained ten people and formally arrested two of them after the U.S. Embassy in Athens was vandalized with paint.

SPAIN Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says he will take his 2019 national budget proposal to a vote in parliament, even though his center-left minority government doesn’t currently have enough support to get it approved.

BRITAIN The government yesterday ruled out seeking an extension to the two-year period taking the country out of the European Union as Prime Minister Theresa May continued to seek further concessions from the EU ahead of a crucial parliamentary vote next week on her Brexit deal.

GUATEMALA has announced it was pulling out of a United Nations-sponsored anti-corruption commission after more than a year of tension between the government and the group, which has investigated top government officials and people close to President Jimmy Morales.