World briefs

CHINA confirmed yesterday its economy czar will go to Washington for trade talks despite fears he might cancel after President Donald Trump threatened to escalate a tariff war over Beijing’s technology ambitions. 

CHINA Automaker Ferrari says its profits rose in the first quarter as demand for its luxury sports cars grew strongly, particularly in China. The Italian manufacturer said that its net profit grew to 180 million euros in the three months through March, up from 149 million euros in the same period a year earlier.

MYANMAR Two Reuters journalists whose reporting on the Myanmar military’s abuses of Rohingya Muslims got them imprisoned and drew the world’s attention to curbs on freedom of the press were freed yesterday as part of a mass presidential pardon.

SRI LANKA Two bomb experts were among the suicide attackers who struck churches and hotels on Easter in Sri Lanka and all those directly involved in the bombings are either dead or under arrest, police said.

LEBANON Employees at the Central Bank of Lebanon yesterday suspended their open-ended strike for three days, saying they hope their wages and benefits will not be cut.

EGYPT’s highest appeals court has upheld death sentences for 13 people convicted of terror charges over attacks in the capital in which explosive devices killed at least two police officers.

UK British Prime Minister Theresa May faced renewed pressure yesterday from lawmakers in her Conservative Party to abandon efforts to seek a Brexit compromise deal with the opposition Labour Party.

UK Prince Charles of Britain is visiting Germany on a four-day charm offensive during which he will stress the two European countries’ close ties.

MACEDONIA Pope Francis made the first-ever papal visit to North yesterday and sought to encourage its efforts to integrate into European institutions after its name change resolved a decades-long dispute with Greece.

USA Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has made it official: The administration won’t be turning President Donald Trump’s tax returns over to the Democratic-controlled House.

USA-IRAN A sudden White House announcement that a U.S. aircraft carrier and a bomber wing would be deployed in the Persian Gulf to counter Iran comes just days ahead of the anniversary of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw America from Tehran’s nuclear deal.