World Briefs

G-7 The ups and downs of oil prices; whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again; whether Britain will opt to leave the EU; and the outcome of the US election, which could put Trump in the White House. These are unknowns looming over the G-7 summit which begins today in northern Japan.

OBAMA In his final stretch as president, Barack Obama is driving the US toward friendlier relations with historical adversaries like Vietnam, Cuba, Iran and Myanmar. Tomorrow’s visit to Hiroshima is the latest reconciliation gesture. Wrapping up a historic visit to Vietnam, he praised the next generation of leaders for being more conscious about the effects of climate.

CHINA Mickey Mouse has a new and deep-pocketed challenger: China’s shopping mall king. The developer that bought Hollywood studio Legendary Entertainment is preparing to fight Disney to lead China’s — and possibly the world’s — theme park industry. More on p10

AUSTRALIA Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce  boasts that he had got into Johnny Depp’s head like fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter after the Hollywood actor quipped that the ruddy-faced lawmaker appeared to be “inbred with a tomato.”

AFGHANISTAN The Taliban confirms that their former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a US drone strike last week and that they have appointed Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, one of Mansour’s two deputies, as the new leader. The announcement came as a suicide bomber struck a minibus carrying court employees in Kabul, killing at least 11 people.

FLIGHT 804 Egyptian forensic experts are examining human remains retrieved from the crash of EgyptAir Flight 804 for any traces of explosives. One member of the team says the state of the remains suggests an explosion, a claim authorities call speculation.

USA After months of declaring himself free of donor ties, Donald Trump is holding his first presidential fundraiser, including a USD25,000-per-ticket dinner in Los Angeles. Trump insists he’s changing only because the Republican National Committee wants him to, he told AP.

CUBA announces that it will legalize small and medium-sized private businesses, a move that could significantly expand the space allowed for private enterprise in one of the world’s last communist countries.