World briefs

TAIWAN President Tsai Ing-wen reaffirmed her opposition to nuclear power before marching with anti-nuclear protesters, reviving an issue that has proven politically divisive in the past. 

CAMBODIA A court yesterday charged three Chinese nationals with money laundering after the men were allegedly caught carrying more than USD3.5 million without proper provenance for the money. The three men were arrested at Phnom Penh airport after they arrived from Hong Kong. They were allegedly carrying $3.52 million in $100 bank notes in their bags. If convicted, the men could face 10 to 20 years in prison.

US A New Hampshire man who smuggled rare lizards from the Philippines to the U.S. by hiding them in socks and placing them inside electronic equipment has pleaded guilty to trafficking in protected wildlife in violation of international treaties.

SRI LANKA Suicide bombings at a militants’ safe house have shaken the simple homes of Kalmunai town as well as the rest of this idyllic coast, as the investigation into the Islamic State-claimed Easter bombings has spread here. Police and military checkpoints dot the coastal roads.

AFGHANISTAN The suffering of young women is why rights activists say they are demanding a seat at the table in negotiations between the government and the Taliban over peace and Afghanistan’s future. 

CYPRUS Investigators hunting for victims of a suspected serial killer retrieved a suitcase containing the decomposing remains of a woman from the bottom of a man-made lake yesterday. The body is believed to be that of one of the victims of a Cypriot military officer who has confessed to killing seven foreign women and girls. The suitcase was weighed down by a concrete block. 

SPAIN A divided country voted yesterday in its third general election in four years, with all eyes on whether a far-right party will enter Parliament for the first time in decades and potentially help unseat the Socialist government.

MOZAMBIQUE A second disaster unfolded yesterday in northern Mozambique in the wake of Cyclone Kenneth as raging flood waters killed one person and began to cut off the region’s main city from the outside world. Some 160,000 people were at risk, with more torrential rain forecast for the days ahead.