World briefs

CHINA Beijing’s awful air quality improved significantly in the first half of the year, with actions taken to curb the city’s heavy pollution having a positive effect, officials said.

PHILIPPINES The Supreme Court dismissed a plunder case against former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and ordered her freed immediately after nearly five years of hospital detention — a decision the grateful ex-leader indicated can help her deal with those who “through self-serving interpretation and implementation of the law” made her suffer.

INDIA Authorities lifted a three-day publication ban in India’s portion of Kashmir but newspapers delayed new print runs due to uncertainties about the media restrictions imposed during massive anti-India protests that left dozens of people dead and hundreds injured. More on p13

AUSTRALIA Vice President Joe Biden met with Australia’s prime minister and other leaders, as he reasserted America’s push to boost its presence in the Asia-Pacific region and maintain its status as a “Pacific power.”

TURKEY State-run Anadolu news agency reports that Turkey’s Board of Higher Education has requested the resignations of 1,577 university deans, effectively dismissing them. Yesterday’s announcement comes right on the heels of an announcement by the Ministry of National Education that it has dismissed 15,200 personnel over their alleged involvement with a group the government claims is responsible for Friday’s failed coup.

GERMANY A top security official says a note found in the Afghan train attacker’s room indicates he may have been self-radicalized. Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told reporters Tuesday that the 17-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, who shouted “Allahu akbar” as he attacked people on a train Monday night in southern Germany had written notes in Pashtun that indicated he may have self-radicalized. Four members of a HK family were hurt in the attack.

USA The Trump campaign dismissed criticism that Melania Trump directly lifted two passages nearly word-for-word from the speech that first lady Michelle Obama delivered in 2008 at the Democratic National Convention, calling the complaints “just absurd.”

EU launched dispute proceedings against China in the World Trade Organization over import duties and other alleged measures involving raw materials.
After similar action against China by the U.S. last week, the EU announced the move Tuesday alleging China’s measures violate WTO rules, distort the market and unfairly favor Chinese companies.