World Briefs

IRAN  The Frankfurt Book Fair says Tehran has canceled plans for a national stand at this year’s event to protest a planned appearance by British author Salman Rushdie. Rushdie is to appear at a news conference today ahead of the annual fair’s opening. The author spent years in hiding with heavy security after his novel “The Satanic Verses” drew a death edict from Iran’s religious authorities. Fair director Juergen Boos said that free speech “is not negotiable.”

CHINA Two senior Chinese officials — one who led the country’s biggest petroleum company and the other a deputy party chief in populous Sichuan province— are convicted of corruption and sentenced to up to 16 years in prison.

CHINA Authorities announce the arrests of 16 suspected members of a smuggling ring and the seizure of hundreds of kilograms of ivory along with rhino horns and bear paws.  More on p10

INDONESIA A helicopter carrying 5 people is missing in western Indonesia in the country’s latest air transport incident. The Eurocopter EC-130 was on a chartered flight from Samosir island in Toba Lake to North Sumatra’s capital, Medan, when it was reported missing Sunday about 17 minutes after takeoff. It was carrying 2 crewmen and 3 passengers.

THAILAND The lawyer defending two Myanmar migrants in the murders of two British tourists on a Thai resort island accuse the police of torturing his clients, beating them and threatening to “make them disappear” in order to extract confessions.

PHILIPPINES Philippine officials say gunmen killed a town mayor and wounded his vice mayor and at least three others in an ambush while they were traveling in a van in a remote southern region. Meanwhile, the race for the Philippine presidency next year has begun with the country’s vice president being the first major contender to register his candidacy to lead one of Asia’s most unwieldy democracies.

NEPAL New PM Khadga Prasad Oli appointed two deputy premiers yesterday, including an ethnic community leader who has rallied hundreds of protesters in blocking fuel and goods shipments from India for weeks and plunged the Himalayan nation into a fuel crisis.

INDIA The Missionaries of Charity, the Roman Catholic order founded by Mother Teresa, has decided to close its adoption services in India after the country amended its rules to make single parents eligible to adopt.

USA Michelle Obama is grooving to the tunes of Beyonce, Demi Lovato and Esperanza Spalding as she celebrates the International Day of the Girl. The first lady tweeted a link to her “girl power” music playlist on the streaming music platform Spotify. The U.N. has designated Oct. 11 to promote awareness for gender inequality around the world.