World briefs

China Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was in Beijing yesterday for a meeting with counterpart Xi Jinping in which the Southeast Asian leader was expected to discuss a ruling on the disputed South China Sea.

Myanmar A court in Myanmar has found a prominent filmmaker guilty of defaming the military with his postings on Facebook and sentenced him to a year in prison.

Indonesia Protesters in Indonesia’s restive Papua province set fire to a local government building and broke into a prison yesterday as thousands rallied against racism and called for their region’s independence, officials said.

India-Pakistan India said it has information that Pakistan is trying to infiltrate terrorists into the country to carry out attacks amid rising tensions over New Delhi’s decision to abrogate the autonomy of Indian-administered Kashmir.

Yemen Airstrikes hit Yemeni government forces heading to the southern port city of Aden to fight separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates yesterday, killing at least 30 troops, a government commander said.

Egypt Security officials say they arrested a suspected militant and are pursuing 80 others in a province west of Cairo for plotting an imminent attack.

Colombia A group of ex-Colombia rebel negotiators announce in video they are taking up arms again following 2016 peace.

EU The European Union’s top diplomat said  that the existing nuclear deal between Iran and world powers must not be sacrificed as part of any U.S. moves to forge a new security agreement with Tehran amid attempts to set up a meeting between President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart.

Italy Ex-premier Giuseppe Conte yesterday accepted a fresh mandate to try and cobble together a new government backed by the populist 5-Star Movement and the center-left Democrats, aimed at blocking right-wing League leader Matteo Salvini’s power grab.

UK Political opposition to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move to suspend Parliament crystalized yesterday amid protests, legal action and a petition to block the move which has gathered more than 1 million signatures.

USA Struggling Democratic presidential candidates are facing the bad news that they are not among the 10 who have qualified for the next debate, a predicament that is likely to spell doom for their campaigns.