World Briefs

THAILAND More than 200 people marched in Bangkok yesterday to protest military rule on the second anniversary of the coup that toppled the country’s elected government. The march was one of the biggest anti-junta protests since the takeover and was treated with unusual tolerance by the authorities, who usually take a heavy-handed approach to dissent, both on the streets and online.

SYRIA On a secret trip to Syria, the new commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East said Saturday he felt a moral obligation to enter a war zone to check on his troops and make his own assessment of progress in organizing local Arab and Kurd fighters for what has been a slow campaign to push the Islamic State group out of Syria.
Spain’s conservative Popular Party could boost its share of the vote in fresh elections next month but not by a sufficient margin to break the stalemate that has stopped politicians from forming a government since December, according to a new poll.

SRI LANKA The death toll from landslides and floods in Sri Lanka as a result of weeklong heavy storms has risen to 92, with soldiers searching for victims of landslides that buried three villages in the central hills pulling out eight bodies from the rubble.

ISRAEL’s defense minister has officially stepped down, capping a tumultuous week of politics that is expected to bring a hard-line novice into the sensitive post. Moshe Yaalon’s departure clears the way for Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the hardline Yisrael Beitenu party, to join the government.

NETHERLANDS Fans have attacked players of Dutch team Go Ahead Eagles after a promotion-relegation playoff match against top-flight team De Graafschap Doetinchem. The Go Ahead Eagles players were celebrating after Sunday’s 1-1 draw in Doetinchem ensured the team will return to the Dutch top flight next season when De Graafschap fans stormed the pitch and some aimed punches and kicks at the celebrating players.

USA Casino giants MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts Ltd. are moving forward with plans to stop buying electricity from Warren Buffett’s utility in Nevada, dealing a blow to the billionaire’s power service provider. MGM and Wynn have submitted applications with Nevada regulators seeking permission to leave NV Energy, a utility owned by Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., according to filings with the Nevada Public Utilities Commission