World Briefs

CHINA Smog levels in Beijing hit a record low after the government closed factories and limited traffic in advance of a parade marking the World War II victory over Japan. The average level of PM2.5 – the tiny particulates that pose the greatest threat to human health – fell to 19.5 micrograms from August 20-24, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau said Tuesday. Pollution had never been that low over five days in the three years the bureau has been publicly announcing the records.

CHINA State media say China’s top official on work safety has been fired and is a suspect in a corruption investigation. The fall of Yang Dongliang, 61, has coincided with the explosion at a hazardous material warehouse in Tianjin on Aug. 12 which killed 139 people and left 34 missing. The Xinhua News Agency said yesterday that Yang, formerly the director of the State Administration of Work Safety, is suspected of “severely violating” party discipline and state laws, which typically means corruption.

MYANMAR opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi warns armed ethnic minority groups not to rush into signing a nationwide cease-fire deal, a position that pits her against President Thein Sein, who has made reaching a deal before November’s general election his top priority.

MALAYSIA The deep sea hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner will likely include cutting-edge sonar equipment when it ramps up again in October after the stormy southern hemisphere winter has passed, the Australian search leader says.
Philippines The Philippines has asked the U.S. military to help protect the transport of Filipino troops and supplies in the disputed South China Sea by flying American patrol planes to discourage Chinese moves to stop the resupply missions.

SRI LANKA-USA The United States says it wants to sponsor a resolution at next month’s U.N. human rights session that is supportive of Sri Lanka’s government, which wants to conduct its own investigation into alleged war crimes.

GERMANY Angela Merkel (pictured) urged Germans to stand up against hatred and vowed zero tolerance for attacks against refugees, even as more than a hundred far-right protesters booed her visit to a shelter for asylum-seekers yesterday. Merkel had traveled to Heidenau, a small town near Germany’s eastern border with the Czech Republic, to express support for refugees following neo-Nazi riots at the site over the weekend.

FRANCE The Moroccan suspect in a foiled attack on a high-speed train is facing terrorism charges over what authorities say was a plan to unleash carnage among hundreds of passengers. The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed yesterday that Ayoub El-Khazzani was charged overnight. El-Khazzani, 26, was overpowered by at least five passengers, including three Americans and a Briton.

ITALY About 50 bodies were found in the hull of a migrant boat that was rescued off Libya’s northern coast yesterday, adding to the more than 2,400 people who have perished at sea this year making the dangerous Mediterranean crossing to Europe. Italy’s coast guard says the Swedish ship Poseiden, which is taking part in the EU’s Triton Mediterranean operation, rescued 439 people from the ship yesterday.