World briefs

Germany Automaker Daimler says its Chinese partner BAIC Group has taken a 5% equity stake, a move Daimler said reinforces the cooperation between the two companies. Daimler, maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, said yesterday that BAIC acquired the stake through a fully-owned subsidiary, Investment Global Co. Ltd.

China Zhuhai Zhenrong, the state-owned oil trading company sanctioned by the White House for violating restrictions on Iranian crude, keeps a low profile. Even so, its reputation for doing business with Iran is well known.

China-US FBI Director Christopher Wray says China poses a more serious counterintelligence threat to the United States than any other country, including Russia. Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee the FBI has more than 1,000 investigations involving economic espionage and attempted intellectual property theft, which nearly all lead back to China.

Indonesia Two Australian men have been arrested with cocaine on Bali and could face long prison terms if convicted. William Cabantog and David van Iersel were paraded at a police news conference in handcuffs and leg shackles. A police statement said they were arrested on Friday at the Lost City Club in the island’s trendy Canggu neighborhood with 1.12 grams of cocaine.

Thailand’s 86-year-old Queen Mother Sirikit is being treated in a hospital for a respiratory infection, the palace said. The Royal Household Bureau said she was admitted to Chulalongkorn Hospital on Sunday after developing a fever and cough. She has been in ill health for several years. 

In this photo provided by New South Wales Police a damaged police vehicle is parked at a police station in Sydney, Australia, Monday, July 22, 2019. Police have charged a driver after methylamphetamine valued at more than $140 million was found in a van that crashed into police cars parked outside a Sydney police station. (NSW Police via AP)

Australia A driver has been charged after methamphetamine valued at more than $140 million was found in a van that crashed into police cars parked outside a Sydney police station. A Toyota HiAce van hit the cars outside the Eastwood Police Station on Monday morning, causing significant damage to one car but injuring no one, a police statement said.

Nepal A mudslide has buried houses in two remote mountain villages in Nepal, killing eight people and leaving two others missing. Government Administrator Yadhunath Poudyal said the mudslide at dawn yesterday buried at least five houses while residents were still sleeping.

India Opposition leaders yesterday angrily demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarify his position in Parliament about President Donald Trump mediating India’s long-running dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir. The External Affairs Ministry said that Modi made no such request to Trump as the U.S. president had claimed.

UK Brexit hardliner Boris Johnson won the contest to lead Britain’s governing Conservative Party yesterday and will become the country’s next prime minister, tasked with fulfilling his promise to lead the U.K. out of the European Union “come what may.”