World briefs

CHINA Two Chinese taxi-hailing apps that merged in February issued a set of standards yesterday to govern their ride-on-demand service, which has run afoul of state and local regulators over passenger safety concerns. Under the self-imposed standards issued by Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, drivers must have at least three years of driving experience, be screened for criminal and traffic violation records and undergo training and tests before becoming employed for ride-on-demand services.

HONG KONG-S KOREA An Asiana plane with 259 passengers aboard returned to Hong Kong yesterday after finding a wrong passenger was aboard the aircraft, airline officials said. The plane was bound for Incheon, South Korea, when it had left Hong Kong earlier yesterday. But it began flying back to Hong Kong when it was above Taiwan, Asiana Airlines officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because their company was still checking details of the incident. The passenger, believed to be a South Korean, was supposed to take a Jeju Air plane from Hong Kong to Incheon but that it wasn’t known how he got on a wrong plane, according to Asiana Airlines.

INDONESIA The Indonesian government will raise the number of countries receiving free visas to 40 from the current 15 countries, a minister said yesterday. Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said that the expansion of the scheme was expected to increase the number of foreign tourist arrivals by 15 percent annually. Among the countries to be included in the expansion are China, France, Germany, Norway, South Korea, Japan, Russia, the UK and the USA, Minister Yahya said at the Coordinating Ministry for Economy.

PHILIPPINE troops have captured the leader of a Muslim rebel group in the south who has been linked to bombings and a beheading and accused of protecting two terror suspects wanted by the United States.

JAPAN U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged the leaders of Japan, China and South Korea to work harder for reconciliation over their wartime past to ensure peace and stability in the region. In a speech yesterday in Tokyo marking the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, Ban said the countries’ lack of reconciliation is “a missing link” for peace and stability in northeast Asia despite the U.N.’s engagement.

IRAQ The tomb of Iraq’s late dictator Saddam Hussein was virtually leveled in heavy clashes between militants from the Islamic State group and Iraqi forces in a fight for control of the city of Tikrit. Fighting intensified to the north and south of Saddam Hussein’s hometown Sunday as Iraqi security forces vowed to reach the center of Tikrit within 48 hours. All that remains of Hussein’s once-lavish tomb are the support columns that held up the roof.

USA-IRAN The United States and Iran plunge back into negotiation, hoping to end once and for all a decades-long standoff that has raised the specter of an Iranian nuclear arsenal, a new atomic arms race in the Middle East and even a U.S. or Israeli military intervention. Two weeks out from a deadline for a framework deal, officials say the awesomeness of the diplomatic task means negotiators are likely to announce only that they’ve made enough progress to justify further talks.