World briefs

PHILIPPINES Police said yesterday they have arrested a suspected Chinese drug trafficker and seized one of the largest amounts of illegal drugs this year. More than 370 kilograms of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of more than $49 million was discovered in the suburban Makati city apartment of Liu Chao after he was arrested, police said.

TIBET More than 150 Tibetan religious leaders said yesterday that their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, should have the sole authority to choose his successor. A resolution adopted by the leaders at a conference said the Tibetan people will not recognize any candidate chosen by the Chinese government for political ends.

LEBANON Overnight confrontations between supporters and opponents of Lebanon’s president — mostly fistfights and stone throwing — erupted in cities and towns across the country, injuring dozens of people, and 16 people were detained for their involvement, the Lebanese Red Cross and the army said yesterday.

SPAIN Authorities say a homemade submarine abandoned off the country’s northwest coast had 3 metric tons of cocaine on board. National police and the finance ministry said in a statement yesterday that it is the first-time drug smugglers have attempted to use a submarine in Europe.

POLAND’s ruling party is suing a law professor of international renown for defamation over comments he made on Twitter. The case against Wojciech Sadurski, a constitutional law professor who is a vocal critic of Poland’s right-wing government, opened yesterday in Warsaw’s Provincial Court.

VATICAN CITY Pope Francis has tapped a Bank of Italy executive to take over the Vatican’s financial intelligence unit following a scandal that resulted in the Vatican being suspended from an international anti-money laundering network.

NORWAY Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle said yesterday it is ending some of its long-haul routes to the United States and Thailand from Scandinavia, citing technical issues with the Rolls Royce engines on Boeing 787s and low demand.

UK The leader of Britain’s main opposition party, Jeremy Corbyn, accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of secretly negotiating the basis of a trade deal with the United States ahead of the country’s departure with the European Union — including a contentious plan to extend patents for American drug companies.

US The House Judiciary Committee is set to take over the impeachment probe of President Donald Trump, scheduling a hearing for next week as they push closer to a possible vote on actual charges of “high crimes and misdemeanors.”