World Briefs

CHINA Huawei Technologies Co. Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou squares up to begin extradition hearings in a Vancouver court today, 13 months after she was arrested on a U.S. handover request.

CHINA Facebook Inc. apologized for mistranslating Chinese President Xi Jinping’s name from Burmese to a vulgar word in English in some posts, the New York Times reported. The mistranslation should not have occurred and “we are taking steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” the newspaper cited the social media company as saying.

PHILIPPINES Officials said yesterday the government will no longer allow villagers to return to a crater-studded island where an erupting volcano lies, warning that living there would be “like having a gun pointed at you.” Officials in Batangas province, where the volcano is located, have been asked to look for a safer housing area, at least three hectares in size, for about 6,000 families that used to live in four villages.

JAPAN Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged yesterday to bolster his country’s role under its security pact with the U.S. in “outer space and cyberspace,” as the allies marked the 60th anniversary of a treaty that has been the basis for their postwar defense alliance.
Iran Officials said yesterday that two newly constructed satellites have passed pre-launch tests and will be transported to the nation’s space center for eventual launch, without elaborating. Iran says its satellite program, like its nuclear activities, is aimed at scientific research and other civilian applications.

CYPRUS The government yesterday denounced Turkey as a “pirate state” that flouts international law as Turkey’s bid to drill for natural gas in waters where Cyprus has economic rights rekindled tensions over energy reserves in the eastern Mediterranean.

ISRAEL The military said it began construction of an underground defense system yesterday along its northern frontier with Lebanon to protect against cross-border tunnels. The infrastructure project will identify underground acoustic and seismic activity indicating tunnel digging, accompanied other defensive measures

UKRAINE The bodies of the 11 Ukrainians who died when an Iranian missile shot down a passenger plane have arrived in Ukraine for a farewell ceremony. An honor guard solemnly carried the coffins into the airport terminal, where a farewell observance lasted until evening.

CZECH REPUBLIC A fire swept through a Czech asylum for the mentally ill yesterday, killing eight male patients, officials said. In addition to the deaths, 30 others were injured by the blaze and transported to nearby hospitals. One of them was in critical condition.