World briefs

SYRIA The United States won’t abandon its pursuit of peace in Syria after suspending direct U.S.-Russian talks on a cease-fire, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said, even as he announced no new strategy to replace diplomatic efforts with Russia. “Together, the Syrian regime and Russia seemed to have rejected diplomacy,” he said, opting for a victory at the expense of “the broken bodies, bombed-out hospitals and traumatized children of a long-suffering land.”

PHILIPPINES President Duterte has told Barack Obama “you can go to hell” in his latest tirade against the U.S. over its criticism of his deadly anti-drug campaign. He also lashed out anew at the European Union in a speech yesterday saying the 28-nation bloc, which has also criticized his brutal crackdown, “better choose purgatory, hell is filled up.” Meanwhile, U.S. and Philippine forces opened joint combat exercises under some uncertainty, days after Duterte said they would be the last such drills of his 6-year presidency.

THAILAND A battered body hangs from a tree as a man swings a folding chair over his head, preparing to smash it into the corpse. Spectators watch intently at a slight distance, some smiling, as if watching a Punch and Judy show.

TAIWAN Commercial fishing boat owners in Taiwan, one of the world’s biggest seafood exporters, face strict rules and potential fines under a new law aimed at preventing overfishing and protecting migrant crewmembers who work far at sea with little oversight.

IRAN The head of Iran’s space agency said his country is interested in cooperating with NASA. Speaking to reporters at the start of World Space Week, Mohsen Bahrami said that “many in the world look at NASA’s programs. We are interested in having cooperation, naturally. When you are in orbit, there is no country and race.”

USA Manhattan’s oldest church is getting ready to celebrate its 250-year history, which includes worshippers ranging from George Washington to those who searched for victims following the Sept. 11 attacks. St. Paul’s Chapel in lower Manhattan is best known today as the “Little Church that Stood,” having survived unscathed as the World Trade Center towers came down across the street.

MARKETS Asian stock markets were mostly higher yesterday as concerns about Deutsche Bank’s financial health eased and Japan’s quarterly survey showed companies lowered their inflation outlook. HK stock exchange is on a roller coaster.