World briefs

CHINA-KOREA Chinese authorities are investigating a North Korean bank suspected of financing its government’s imports of goods that might be used by the North’s nuclear weapons program. More on p11

JAPAN Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledges to accelerate his mix of policies to prop up Japan’s economic recovery and speed up parliamentary approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.

THAILAND Thai police are attempting to identify a dismembered body found in a freezer when they raided an apartment and arrested three men – two thought to be American and one British – suspected of trafficking in forged passports.
Nepal A prominent local journalist who helped organize a gathering in Nepal of investigative reporters from throughout Asia was notably absent from the event, exiled to avoid possible arrest.

TURKEY’s state-run news agency says Kurdish rebels have detonated a roadside bomb in southeast Turkey, killing two security force members and wounding eight others. Anadolu Agency says yesterday’s blast targeted soldiers and village guards traveling on a highway in Mardin province, near the Syrian border.

NIGERIA Shell Nigeria is refusing to confirm a report by Niger Delta militants that they have bombed its Bonny oil pipeline in the south, crippling its exports.

POLAND A Russian citizen suspected of flying a drone over Polish government buildings has been detained for questioning, Polish security officials said yesterday. Warsaw police spokesman Mariusz Mrozek said the man was detained on allegations he violated Poland’s law that bans flying drones in cities and near airports without permission, for safety reasons.

GERMANY Berlin police say a 43-year-old Norwegian tourist is in custody after biting off part of the ear of a man who tried to break up a fight between him and a dark-skinned German passenger he’d allegedly taunted as being a terrorist. The intoxicated tourist allegedly accused the other passenger in English of being a terrorist and asking if he had a bomb.

MEXICO A lawyer for Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman says he will argue that his client has been the victim of torture. Attorney Jose Refugio Rodriguez says the Sinaloa cartel boss’ treatment in prison is tantamount to torture.