World Briefs

USA-CHINA The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee is pressing the Pentagon to sail Navy ships within 20 km of artificial islands China is building in the South China Sea and claiming as sovereign territory. Republican Sen. John McCain says the U.S. needs to go within the 20 km limit to underscore it does not recognize China’s claims that the islands are its territory.

CHINA-MYANMAR The illicit timber trade between Myanmar and China is rebounding to near its peak of a decade ago as loggers push deeper into Myanmar to strip its forests, according to a report released yesterday by an environmental group.

THAILAND Police yesterday obtained an arrest warrant for a Pakistani man in connection with last month’s deadly bombing in Bangkok that the authorities blame on a people-smuggling gang that moves ethnic Uighurs out of China. Police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said the warrant for Abdul Tawab cites charges of conspiracy to possess unauthorized explosives and conspiracy to possess unauthorized war materials.

THAILAND Famous beach resort Pattaya is still open to tourists though it has been declared a “disaster zone” due to floods, said Pattaya City mayor Itthipol Kunpluem yesterday. Various spots in Pattaya, about 140 km east of the Thai capital, have been hit by flood due to tropical storm Vamco since Wednesday but its tourist industry remains largely intact, Itthipol confirmed.

INDIA A Saudi Arabian diplomat accused of repeatedly raping and abusing two women has left India under cover of diplomatic immunity. India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup identified the diplomat as Majed Hassan Ashoor, the first secretary at the Saudi Embassy in New Delhi.

NEW ZEALAND employers will face stricter penalties for exploiting migrant workers under a bilateral arrangement signed by the New Zealand and Philippines governments yesterday. The arrangement would help ensure the Filipino workers were treated fairly, said New Zealand Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse, who signed the agreement with the Philippines Secretary of Labor and Employment Rosalinda Baldoz.

HUNGARY-SERBIA Serbia’s government says that Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will visit the country today — an apparent bid to ease tensions that erupted after Hungarian police used tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons against migrants seeking entry from Serbia.

CHILE A major earthquake just offshore rattles Chileans, killing five people and shaking the Earth so strongly the tremor is felt in places across South America.

BURKINA FASO While gunfire rang out in the streets, Burkina Faso’s military took to the airwaves yesterday to declare it now controls the West African country, confirming that a coup has taken place just weeks before elections.