World briefs

SOUTH CHINA SEA  A U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer arrives in the northern Chinese port of Qingdao in the first visit by an American warship to the country since Beijing responded angrily to an arbitration panel’s ruling that its expansive South China Sea maritime claims had no basis in law.  More on p11

JAPAN’s emperor expresses concern about fulfilling his duties as he ages, in a public address that is remarkable for its rarity and its suggestion that he would like to abdicate.  More on p13

AFGHANISTAN Five gunmen wearing Afghan military uniforms have abducted an American and an Australian in Kabul. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the abduction. The two foreigners were taken from their SUV while driving on Sunday night on a main road near the American University of Afghanistan. They are believed to be employees of the university.

INDIA Police say government forces have arrested more than 1,000 protesters in Indian-controlled Kashmir in an attempt to stem protests in the Himalayan region.

PHILIPPINES Communist guerrillas reject a warning by the President Duterte against use of land mines that have killed troops and vow instead to intensify their use of such explosives at the risk of scuttling planned peace talks.

NEPAL A helicopter crashed in a mountainous region of Nepal yesterday, killing all seven people on board, officials said. Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority said efforts were being made to bring back the bodies from the crash site in the Chuchebhir area, located northwest of the capital, Kathmandu

NEW ZEALAND’s state-owned farming company said it will stop using palm kernel products to feed its animals as it seeks to take better care of the environment. Landcorp announced it will stop using the products by the middle of next year. Environmentalists have linked growth in the palm oil industry to rainforest destruction in Indonesia, which in turn is contributing to the decline in species like the Sumatran tiger.

ZIMBABWE’s longtime president has praised his security forces while warning against violent protests, days after the police crushed an anti-government march in the capital, Harare. President Robert Mugabe spoke yesterday at a commemoration event notable for the absence of some of his previously loyal wartime allies.

POKEMON It was a bit touch and go for Hiroshima officials, but the atomic bomb memorial park in the western Japanese city is now Pokemon No. The city had asked the developer of the popular “Pokemon Go” smartphone game to remove the creatures and sites that appeared in the park by last weekend, when a solemn annual ceremony was held to mark the anniversary of the atomic bombing that killed 140,000 people in the final days of World War II.