World Briefs

CHINA The Defense Ministry says a military plane was dispatched to one of China’s new man-made islands in a disputed area of the South China Sea in what is believed to be the first openly acknowledged landing of its kind.

S. KOREA The country’s president says there are signs that North Korea is preparing for a fifth nuclear bomb test amid reports of increased activity at the country’s main nuclear test site.

JAPAN The U.S. military joined relief efforts in southern Japan for areas devastated by two powerful earthquakes as local rescuers comb through debris looking for 10 people still reported missing. Authorities say at least 42 people have died and nearly 1,100 were injured in the two quakes that hit the region near Kumamoto city Thursday and Sunday.

CAMBODIA The latest crackdown on illegal logging in Cambodia is “just a game” and big timber traders are winning, says Ouch Leng, a former government official who has spent two decades helping poor villagers fight poaching of precious tropical forests.

AUSTRALIA Actor Johnny Depp’s wife Amber Heard pleads guilty to providing a false immigration document amid allegations she smuggled the couple’s dogs to Australia, but managed to avoid jail time over what was dubbed the “war on terrier” debacle.

MYANMAR’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi vowed yesterday to push for constitutional amendments to build a true democracy in the Southeast Asian country as it emerges from decades of military control. Suu Kyi made the comments in a nationally televised address to mark the start of the Buddhist new year.

INDIA New Delhi has banned chewing tobacco in an effort to lower the high incidence of mouth and throat cancers. The Delhi government ordered the prohibition of the sale, purchase and possession of all forms of chewable tobacco, saying violators can be imprisoned for up to six months and fined up to 300,000 rupees (USD4,500).

ECUADOR Rescuers pull survivors from rubble after the strongest earthquake to hit Ecuador in decades flattens buildings and buckles highways along its Pacific coast. Officials say the quake killed more than 230 people and injured hundreds.

QATAR A meeting of oil-rich countries in Qatar that had been expected to boost crude prices by freezing production falls apart as Iran stays home and vows to increase its output despite threats by Saudi Arabia. The dysfunction likely means oil prices will drop again as markets open yesterday.

SWEDEN’s housing minister has stepped down amid mounting questions over his contacts with Islamists and ultra-nationalists from his native Turkey. Mehmet Kaplan, a 44-year-old Green Party member and former spokesman of Sweden’s Muslim Council, said he has done nothing wrong but was resigning because the criticism against him was interfering with his ability to perform his job.