World Briefs

MONGOLIA The opposition Mongolian People’s Party has won a decisive victory in parliamentary elections in the landlocked nation where a fall in commodity prices has sent the economy into a sharp decline. More on p12

AFGHANISTAN  Taliban militants launched a twin suicide attack yesterday, targeting a convoy of buses carrying Afghan police cadets outside of the capital and killing 37 people, mostly policemen, and wounding 40, an Afghan official said. The attack took place in Paghman district, some 20 km west of Kabul. Four civilians were among those killed.

PAKISTAN Gunmen have ambushed army and police patrols in the Pakistani city of Quetta, killing eight security forces, officials said.

THAILAND-USA The United States removed Thailand from its human trafficking blacklist yesterday, though forced labor remains widespread in the nation’s lucrative seafood industry. The State Department made the assessment in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which examines 188 governments’ efforts in combating modern-day slavery.

VIETNAM announced that a Taiwanese-owned steel plant was responsible for massive fish deaths along the central coast that put many fishermen out of work. Formosa Plastics Group was responsible for an estimated 70 tons of dead fish that began washing ashore along more than 200 kilometers of coastline in early April. Officials said a subsidiary will have to pay USD500 million to compensate affected people, clean up the environment.

USA More Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, but the level of jobless claims remains low enough to suggest that most workers enjoy job security. The Labor Department said that weekly U.S. applications rose by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 268,000 in the week that ended June 25.

TRUMP  A new multi-nation survey finds that confidence in Donald Trump’s ability to manage foreign policy should he become U.S. president is rock-bottom in a host of countries in Europe and Asia. More on p15

UK The race to become Britain’s next prime minister took a dramatic, unexpected turn as former London Mayor Boris Johnson [pictured] ruled himself out of contention after the defection of a key ally. Justice Secretary Michael Gove abruptly withdrew his support for Johnson and announced he would run for the Conservative Party leadership himself.

MARKETS Asian shares were mostly up yesterday as markets continued to gradually get over the shock set off by Britain’s vote last week to leave the European Union.