World Briefs

PHILIPPINES Muslims in the southern Philippines voted yesterday in a referendum on a new autonomous region that seeks to end nearly half a century of unrest, in what their leaders are touting as the best alternative to a new wave of Islamic State group-inspired militants.

US-N. KOREA President Donald Trump said that “things are going very well with North Korea” and he plans a second summit with leader Kim Jong Un to try to broker a deal that would entice the North to give up its nuclear weapons.

PAKISTAN A health official says the country has kicked off its first nationwide polio vaccination campaign for the year in efforts to eradicate the crippling disease by the end of 2019.

SYRIA The Israeli military said its jets struck a series of Iranian military targets in Syria early yesterday, an announcement that was a rare departure from Israel’s years-long policy of ambiguity regarding activities in neighboring war-torn Syria. 

ZIMBABWE’s capital is returning to normal, after a week of turmoil in which Zimbabweans protested dramatic fuel price hikes and government security forces launched a crackdown in which 12 people were killed.

CYPRUS Police say they are seeking two men who are missing with a baby girl that they allegedly tried to adopt after a domestic worker purchased the child in the Philippines on their behalf.

BRITAIN Police in Northern Ireland said they suspect Irish Republican Army dissidents were behind a car bombing outside a courthouse in the city of Londonderry. Two men in their 20s have been arrested over the attack, which caused no injuries.

MEXICO People in the town where a gasoline explosion killed at least 85 people say the section of pipeline that gushed fuel has been a habitual gathering site for thieves, repeatedly damaged and patched like a trusty pair of jeans.

COLOMBIA Thousands of Colombians dressed in white poured into the streets to repudiate terrorism after a car bombing at a Bogota police academy killed 21 people and left dozens more wounded.

NICARAGUA The European Union says it stands ready to use all peaceful means available to help prevent further human rights abuses in Nicaragua, where hundreds have died in a crackdown on protests since last year.