World Briefs

CHINA pledged to improve its system for registering new drugs in the country this year and more closely monitor those medicines after they’ve entered the market, part of a series of rapid health-care reforms that seek to lower costs and improve the quality of drugs. 

THAILAND The leader of the oldest political party and former PM has resigned after his party’s poor showing in the general election. Vejjajiva (pictured) announced his resignation after an unofficial tally last night showed his Democrat Party in fifth place. The Democrats received about 2.98 million votes out of a preliminary total vote count of about 33 million. 

INDONESIA’s long-awaited first subway opened yesterday in Jakarta to relieve crippling traffic gridlock in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. President Joko Widodo presided over a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of the second phase: a northward line planned for completion by 2024. The two projects are being built at a cost of USD2.6 billion.

NEW ZEALANDERS are debating the limits of free speech after their chief censor banned a 74-page manifesto written by the man accused of slaughtering 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch. The ban means anybody caught with the document on their computer could face up to 10 years in prison, while anyone caught sending it could face 14 years.

USA Democrats are pressing for full disclosure of special counsel Robert Mueller’s (pictured) report on the Russia investigation and vowing to use subpoena powers and other legal means if necessary to get it. Attorney General William Barr is expected to release his first summary of Mueller’s findings today.

UK Anti-Brexit protesters flooded into central London by the hundreds of thousands, demanding a new referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union. The “People’s Vote March” snaked from Park Lane and other locations to converge on the Parliament.

KENYA A science teacher from rural Kenya, who gives away most of his salary to support poorer pupils, has won a USD1m prize for the world’s best teacher. Peter Tabichi (pictured), a member of the Franciscan religious order, won the 2019 Global Teacher Prize. Brother Peter has been praised for his achievements in a deprived school with crowded classes and few text books.