World briefs

CAMEROON Suspected Boko Haram fighters launched attacks on three communities in northern Cameroon, abducting more than 30 people including those aboard a packed bus, residents said yesterday. The assaults by the Nigeria-based terror group came as other militants invaded a town in the neighboring country of Niger for the third time in recent days, underscoring the growing regional havoc being wracked by Boko Haram.

CHINESE actress Zhang Ziyi, who gained international fame for her role in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” accepts a marriage proposal delivered by drone.

EAST TIMOR’s president accepts the resignation of independence hero Xanana Gusmao as prime minister ahead of an expected restructuring of the government. The former guerrilla leader spearheaded East Timor’s drive for independence when Indonesian rule ended in 2002.

S KOREA A former South Korean spy chief is sent to prison after being found guilty of ordering an illicit online campaign to support then-ruling party candidate and current President Park Geun-hye ahead of the 2012 presidential election.

AFGHANISTAN Afghan officials say a senior Islamic State commander was killed in a drone strike in the southern Helmand province.

JAPANESE industrial designer Kenji Ekuan, whose works ranged from a bullet train to the red-capped Kikkoman soy sauce dispenser as familiar as the classic Coca-Cola bottle, has died, his company said. He was 85.

INDIA Police search for a man who raped a Japanese student sightseeing in northern India as recent attacks on women renew public fury and horror over the country’s inability to halt chronic sexual assault. The 20-year-old student attacked Sunday is the second Japanese woman raped in the South Asian country in recent months.

UKRAINE French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says that the European Union will hold off on expanding sanctions against Ukraine separatists and Russians for now depending on developments in eastern Ukraine and in ongoing peace negotiations. More on p15

USA The U.S. Supreme Court refused yesterday to stop same-sex marriages from beginning in Alabama, one of the most conservative states in the country. Alabama began issuing marriage licenses promptly after the decision, becoming the 37th U.S. state where gays can legally wed. Gay marriage is now banned in only 13 states, following a flurry of legal victories for same-sex marriage advocates in recent years.