World briefs

TAIWAN and the U.S. will hold talks later this year as part of upgraded efforts to counter Beijing’s growing pressure on the island for political unification. 

SOUTH KOREA International journalists’ organizations question the status of press freedom after the ruling party singled out a Bloomberg reporter with South Korean nationality over a “borderline traitorous” article insulting President Moon Jae-in, resulting in threats to the reporter’s safety. 

NEW ZEALAND Facebook says none of the 200 or so people who watched live video of the New Zealand mosque shooting flagged it to moderators, underlining the challenge tech companies face in policing violent or disturbing content in real time.

USA Top Democrats are urging the FBI to investigate a Donald Trump campaign donor, Li Yang, who is the founder and onetime owner of a spa that has been implicated in a human-trafficking ring. 

BRAZIL The Brazilian leader who has been dubbed the “Trump of the Tropics” is ready for his first White House visit. Trump will meet today [Macau time] with Brazil’s new president, the hard-right Jair Bolsonaro (pictured).

KAZAKHSTAN President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the only leader that independent Kazakhstan has ever known, abruptly announced his resignation yesterday after three decades in power, raising uncertainty over the future course of the Central Asian country.

NETHERLANDS Investigators probing the deadly tram shooting in the Dutch city of Utrecht sharpened their focus yesterday on a possible extremist motive, as judicial authorities revealed that the main suspect was released from jail this month and faces a rape trial in July.

MOZAMBIQUE Rapidly rising floodwaters have created “an inland ocean” endangering scores of thousands of families, aid workers as they scrambled to rescue survivors of Cyclone Idai who clung to rooftops and trees. Hundreds were dead, many more were missing and thousands were at risk in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.