World briefs

RUSSIA opened a criminal case against Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev (pictured) for receiving a USD2 million bribe related to his ministry’s approval of the sale of a 50 percent stake in Bashneft PJSC purchased by state-run oil producer Rosneft PJSC last month. Ulyukayev, 60, was detained yesterday. The case comes as Rosneft is preparing a mandatory offer to buy out minorities in Bashneft, where it purchased a 50.08 percent stake for 329.69 billion rubles (USD5b).

GREECE Barack Obama opened his final foreign trip as president yesterday with reassuring words about the U.S. commitment to NATO even as he prepares to hand off to a Donald Trump administration, saying Democratic and Republican administrations alike recognize the importance of the alliance to the trans-Atlantic relationship. 

NUCLEAR The U.S. approach to Asia faces a major overhaul when Donald Trump takes office, but what will take its place? A new report warns of a leadership vacuum and even a nuclear arms race if the U.S. withdraws from a region threatened by a provocative North Korea. Authors of the Asia Foundation report also say in some parts of the region there’s hope that a shift from President Obama’s signature foreign policy could be for the good.

NEW ZEALAND Military officials say they have evacuated about 140 people by helicopter from a coastal town and are expecting that number to rise to 200 by the end of the day, as a major rescue operation unfolds following a powerful earthquake. Hundreds of tourists and residents remained stranded in the town of Kaikoura.

POLAND Autopsies began yesterday on the bodies of former Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife as part of a new probe into the 2010 plane crash that killed them and 94 other prominent Poles.

SOUTH CHINA SEA U.S. and Philippine special forces are set to start annual combat exercises in a sign such joint drills will continue despite vocal opposition by the Philippine president.

SUDAN Japan’s Cabinet gives its approval for an additional mission for Japanese troops in South Sudan to assist U.N. peacekeepers with rescue operations, a task opponents say would risk embroiling the troops in international fighting in violation of the country’s pacifist constitution.

UK The British government rejected a leaked report claiming it has no coherent plan for leaving the European Union and may need to hire up to 30,000 civil servants to complete the country’s exit from the 28-nation bloc.