World briefs

US Police arrested a 28-year-old immigrant yesterday in relation to the bombing that rocked a Manhattan neighborhood, and the governor and mayor said the blast is looking increasingly like an act of terrorism with a foreign connection.

RUSSIA Vladimir Putin secured a crushing victory in parliamentary elections that gave the United Russia party its biggest-ever majority – enough to change the constitution at will – as international observers criticized political restrictions on the campaign.

THAILAND Searchers have recovered 18 bodies and are continuing to look for 12 people missing from a heavily loaded boat that sank in a river.

AUSTRALIA The government has reached an USD29.6 million settlement with the owners of a Chinese coal carrier to pay for environmental damage caused when the ship ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef six years ago.

PAKISTAN has called on the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to press India to halt more than two months of violence in Kashmir. The appeal comes a day after suspected rebels attacked an Indian army base in Kashmir, killing 17 soldiers.

SOUTH AFRICA’s government says universities in the country can increase fees by no more than 8 percent next year, despite student warnings that they would protest against any new hikes.

SYRIA State TV is quoting President Bashar Assad as saying that the airstrike of the U.S.-led coalition against his troops was meant to support the Islamic State group. He described the attack as a “blatant American aggression.” More on p14

GERMANY Chancellor Angela Merkel says she takes responsibility for her party’s poor showing in Berlin state elections on the weekend. Speaking yesterday, Merkel called the election result “bitter.”

SWITZERLAND Swiss commodity traders accused of deliberately blending toxic fuel and dumping it in West Africa are blaming African governments for failing to invest in refineries and newer vehicles. A Geneva-based association says “the role of improving fuel quality in Africa clearly rests with African governments, not with the fuel suppliers.”

SLOVENIA Several dozen refugees have staged a protest in an asylum center in Slovenia, complaining that the EU nation is slow in processing their asylum requests. The refugees have also complained over what they described as bad living conditions in the center.