World Briefs

PHILIPPINES Muslims in the southern Philippines overwhelmingly approved in a referendum the creation of a new autonomous region in hopes of ending nearly half a century of unrest, election officials said.

THAILAND A popular Thai music act has apologized amid a scandal set off when one of its members wore a shirt showing the swastika flag of Nazi Germany during a performance.

INDIA Thousands of Indians converged on a ceremonial boulevard in the capital to watch a display of the country’s military power and cultural diversity amid tight security during the national day celebrations. 

AFGHANISTAN The U.S. peace envoy to Afghanistan said that “significant progress” was made during lengthy talks with the Taliban in Qatar and that he was traveling to Afghanistan for more discussions aimed at ending the country’s destructive 17-year war.

SAUDI ARABIA A military base deep inside Saudi Arabia appears to be testing and possibly manufacturing ballistic missiles, experts and satellite images suggest, evidence of the type of weapons program it has long criticized its archrival Iran for possessing.

SYRIA called on Turkey to withdraw its troops from Syria’s northern territories and end support for armed opposition groups in order to revive a two-decade-old bilateral security agreement.

ITALY A prosecutor is investigating a flight instructor who survived a midair collision between a small tourist plane and a helicopter in the Italian Alps that killed seven.

BELGIUM Thousands of protesters are marching through the Belgian capital of Brussels to demand that the government increases its efforts to fight climate change.

ARTIC Military authorities say U.S. Air Force and Canadian fighter jets were scrambled to escort two Russian bombers that were traveling in the Arctic region near the North American coastline.

PANAMA Pope Francis celebrated a final Mass yesterday before an estimated 700,000 people and presidents from across Central America as he brought World Youth Day to a close on a Panama City field splashed with flags from across the Americas.

VENEZUELA defused a potential showdown with the United States, suspending a demand that U.S. diplomats leave the country as Washington called on the world to “pick a side” in the South American nation’s fast-moving crisis.