World Briefs

CHINA banned most imports of North Korean coal and iron ore, the country’s main exports, in a significant increase in pressure on the North under U.N. sanctions against its nuclear and missile tests. China buys an estimated two-thirds of impoverished North Korea’s exports.

NEW ZEALAND Helen Clark, a former New Zealand prime minister who is now a senior U.N. official, announces she is running for the top position at the United Nations, saying she would bring nearly 30 years of leadership skills to the job of secretary-general in a world of increasing challenges. Portuguese former PM António Guterres is seen as the top contender for the position.

AUSTRALIA They gather under the blazing sun and blue skies of an Australian beach, looking out at the water that once symbolized so much misery. For these five asylum-seekers, a novel program introducing them to the iconic Aussie sport of surfing is helping to transform both their feelings toward the ocean and allowing them, at least for a brief time, to forget the pains of the past.

MYANMAR Former Myanmar President Thein Sein sheds his formal attire and his hair to join the Buddhist monkhood, days after relinquishing power to a party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

INDONESIA Authorities blow up 23 foreign vessels that were captured for fishing illegally in the country’s waters. The boats, 13 from Vietnam and 10 from Malaysia, were blown up simultaneously in seven ports from Tarakan in northern Kalimantan to Ranai on the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea.

CAMBODIA A leading international environmental group has called on the Cambodian government to investigate an attack on a young forest activist who was slashed with a machete while she slept in a hammock after patrolling for illegal loggers.

MARKETS Global shares fall as oil prices drop further and the head of the International Monetary Fund sounds downbeat on the outlook for the world economy.

VATICAN Discussions are underway about a possible trip by Pope Francis to Greece as early as next week as the country begins deporting migrants back to Turkey. Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said that no decision had been made but in an email to The Associated Press he said “I don’t deny that there are contacts about a possible trip.”

USA Tennessee lawmakers voted yesterday to make the Bible the state’s official book. They’ve already made a .50-caliber sniper gun the official state rifle. The state Senate gave final approval on a 19-8 vote despite arguments the measure conflicts with a provision in the state Constitution that “no preference shall ever be given, by law, to any religious establishment or mode of worship.”