World briefs

Japan A fire official says nearly 30 people are now confirmed or presumed dead in a suspected arson at a popular animation production studio in Kyoto. The same source said 36 others have been injured, some of them critically.

South Korea Setting aside their usual bickering, South Korean liberal and conservative parties have vowed to cooperate to help the Seoul government prevail in an escalating trade row with Japan. After a meeting between the parties’ leaders and President Moon, they announced plans to create a “pan-national” emergency body.

Philippines Thousands of police officers have received administrative punishments with more than 2,000 dismissed for wrongdoing during raids where drug suspects were killed under the president’s crackdown, officials said yesterday.

Pakistan Authorities arrested a former prime minister yesterday over alleged irregularities related to the import of natural gas from Qatar. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (pictured) served as prime minister for nearly a year after Nawaz Sharif was removed from office in July 2017 for failing to disclose foreign assets.

Iranians feeling the squeeze from U.S. sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy are increasingly turning to such digital currencies as Bitcoin to make money, prompting alarm in and out of the country.

UK The brother of the suicide bomber who killed almost two dozen people at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester two years ago appeared in court yesterday to face 22 charges of murder. The 22-year-old Hashem Abedi’s lawyer, Zafar Ali, said his client denied the charges.

UK The U.K. will plunge into recession if it leaves the European Union without a divorce deal, with the pound plunging in value and the economy shrinking by 2% in a year. The Office for Budget Responsibility made its assessment as chances of an economically disruptive no-deal Brexit appear to be rising.

G-7 Top finance officials from the Group of Seven rich democracies are warning that cryptocurrencies like Facebook’s Libra should not come into use before “serious regulatory and systemic concerns” are addressed. The officials agreed that so-called stablecoins will have to meet “the highest standards” of financial regulation.

Football South Korea and North Korea will meet on the qualifying path to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but it’s unclear whether a rare match between them in Pyongyang will materialize considering their political tension. Drawn in the same Asian qualifying group, the Koreas are scheduled to meet in the North on Oct. 15 and in the South on June 4 next year.

USA The heat wave that has been roasting much of the U.S. in recent days is just getting warmed up, with temperatures expected to soar to dangerous levels through the weekend. Communities are preparing by offering buildings as cooling centers and asking residents to check in on relatives and neighbors.