World Briefs

UNITED NATIONS The U.S. and China have reached agreement on a U.N. resolution that would impose tougher sanctions on North Korea as punishment for its latest nuclear test and rocket launch, U.N. diplomats say. The council will likely discuss the draft today.

CHINA A Chinese media report says a detained Christian human rights lawyer has confessed to breaking the law by disturbing social order, endangering state security and engaging in unprofessional behavior. The report by a semi-official news website in the eastern city of Wenzhou accuses Zhang Kai of numerous instances of stirring up trouble, although it didn’t appear that he has been formally charged.

USA-SOUTHEAST Asia President Barack Obama signs a bill that includes a provision banning U.S. imports of fish caught by slaves in Southeast Asia, gold mined by children in Africa and garments sewn by abused women in Bangladesh.

NORTH KOREA  is urging its people to hunker down and work harder with a “70-day campaign of loyalty” before a major meeting of its ruling Workers’ Party in May.

MALAYSIA A woman sues Malaysia Airlines and the government for USD7.6 million in damages over the loss of her husband on Flight 370, which disappeared mysteriously in 2014. Lawyers said more lawsuits are expected over the next few days ahead of a two-year filing deadline over air accidents set by a global aviation agreement.

MYANMAR A grassroots anti-drug organization whose members are marching through northern Myanmar to destroy opium poppies in farmers’ fields say 14 of their members were wounded when they were attacked by unknown men with automatic weapons and hand grenades.

CAMBODIA Tough-talking prime minister Hun Sen says he has authorized helicopters to fire rockets at smugglers of illegally cut timber. He announced the policy at the inauguration yesterday of a new Environment Ministry building in the capital, Phnom Penh.

FIJIANS in remote places are urged to immediately bury loved ones who died in a powerful cyclone rather than waiting for autopsies.

INDONESIA The Australian government warned yesterday that terrorists may be in the advanced stages of preparing attacks in Indonesia, and urged travelers to exercise a high level of caution when visiting the Southeast Asian nation, including the popular tourist island of Bali.

USA Harvard University in the US is going to remove the word “master” from academic titles, after protests from students who claimed the title had echoes of slavery, BBC reported. House masters, in charge of residential halls at the university, will become known as “faculty deans”. Harvard Law School is also deciding whether to change its official seal, because of links to slavery.