World briefs

CHINA will halt imports from a Canadian company after food safety issues were detected in one batch of pork, the Xinhua state news agency reported yesterday, a move likely to fuel speculation that China is retaliating against Canada for arresting a Chinese tech executive.

CHINA Rescue efforts were underway yesterday after an earthquake in southwestern China left 12 people dead and 135 others injured, authorities said.

MALAYSIA Filipino kidnap-for-ransom gangs raided two fishing boats and abducted 10 crew members yesterday in waters off Borneo island, a Malaysian official and a maritime watchdog said. More on p13

JAPAN The coast guard said yesterday its patrol boats have been pushing back hundreds of North Korean boats trying to poach in fishing grounds rich with squid off Japan’s northern coast.

KAZAKHSTAN’s interior minister has updated the tally of arrests during protests before and after the presidential election earlier this month to nearly 4,000 people.

EGYPT’s first democratically elected president, Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi, was buried under heavy security early on yesterday, a day after his dramatic collapse and death inside a Cairo courtroom, his family and a member of his defense team said.

ARGENTINA The huge blackout that left tens of millions of people in the dark in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay over the weekend raised serious questions about the vulnerability of the power grid in South America and brought criticism down on Argentina’s leader.

ITALY A 116-year-old Italian woman who authorities say was the oldest person in Europe and the second oldest in the world has died.

US Facebook unveiled an ambitious plan yesterday to create a new digital currency similar to Bitcoin for global use, one that could drive more e-commerce on its services and boost ads on its platforms.

US The U.S. is sending 1,000 more troops to the Middle East as tensions in the Persian Gulf mounted yesterday over Iran’s announcement it will not comply with the international agreement that keeps it from making nuclear weapons.