World briefs

CHINA released a prominent human rights lawyer on bail amid protests yesterday outside a northern city court, where supporters of other jailed lawyers and activists condemned the secrecy surrounding the government’s yearlong campaign against legal activism. More on p10

TAIWAN’s president yesterday apologized on behalf of the government to the island’s aboriginal peoples for 400 years of conquest and colonization, saying the facing of difficult historical facts was necessary for society to move forward. Tsai Ing-wen said her government wished to “take a further step” and offer its “fullest apology.” More on p20

BANGLADESH More than 100,000 students in Bangladesh linked their hands yesterday to form human chains to protest two attacks last month by suspected Islamist militants. The students from hundreds of colleges and universities in Dhaka and other cities took part in the protest as part of a campaign to create awareness about the rise of Islamic extremism in the country. More on p12

INDIA-SAUDI ARABIA The Indian government said yesterday it plans to evacuate thousands of Indian workers who have lost their jobs in Saudi Arabia and cannot afford to pay for a flight home. The workers were mostly employed by Saudi construction companies and were laid off amid a slowdown in the industry caused by low global oil prices. About 10,000 Indian workers in Saudi Arabia have lost their jobs.

TURKEY yesterday slammed a German court decision that prevented President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from addressing a demonstration in Germany denouncing Turkey’s failed July 15 coup, and summoned a German diplomat in protest. The German Embassy’s charge d’affaires was due at the ministry yesterday to discuss the issue, an official said, as the attempted coup continued to strain Turkey’s relations with allies.

NIGERIA A man accused of scamming USD60 million from companies around the world through fraudulent emails has been arrested after months of investigation, Interpol and Nigeria’s anti-fraud agency said yesterday. The ringleader of the global scamming network, identified only as a 40-year-old known as Mike, was arrested along with a 38-year-old accomplice in Nigeria’s oil capital, Port Harcourt. More on p15

US A tiny island village on Alaska’s storm-battered western coast is entering a new chapter in its decades-long pursuit to move the entire community from its badly eroding shores to safer ground. The Inupiat Eskimo community of Shishmaref will hold a special election next month asking residents if they should develop a new community at a nearby location on the mainland or stay put with added protections, such as expanding a seawall that has never been completed.