World briefs

CHINA-ICELAND In a remote valley near the Arctic Circle where the wind whips the coarse yellow grass, China and Iceland are preparing to look to the sky — and a shared future. Construction workers are building a research facility to study the Northern Lights, whose spectacular streaks of color light up Iceland’s winter skies.

CHINA-NORTH KOREA Chinese websites are censoring “Kim Fatty the Third,” a nickname widely used to disparage North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, after officials from his country reportedly conveyed their displeasure in a meeting with their Chinese counterparts.  More on p11

SOUTH KOREA Prosecutors question a former vice sports minister over an explosive political scandal that’s threatening Park Geun-hye’s presidency and could spill over to preparations for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

INDONESIA Police name the Christian governor of the Indonesian capital as a suspect in a blasphemy investigation in a major test of the Muslim-majority nation’s reputation for religious tolerance. Earlier this month, Jakarta was rocked by a massive protest by conservative Muslims against the governor. 

PHILIPPINES Authorities say a tipoff from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration allowed them to arrest a Malaysian man who allegedly tried to smuggle 4.6 kilograms of cocaine into the country.

NEW ZEALAND Military leaders say they have almost completed the evacuation of more than 700 tourists and residents from a small coastal town, two days after a powerful earthquake cut off train and vehicle access. The magnitude 7.8 quake left two people dead, triggered a small tsunami, and brought down rocks and mud that swept across highways.

INDIA The first people showed up at the bank long before dawn. They left more than 7 hours later, each clutching the USD60 they’d been allowed to withdraw. One line outside one bank offers a glimpse of how India’s currency crackdown has caused pain and chaos in the country of 1.3 billion. 

AFGHANISTAN A suicide bomber on a motorbike killed six people in Kabul yesterday in an attack targeting a minibus with security agents working for the government. The Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan promptly claimed responsibility for the bombing.

MOROCCO U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says an “overwhelming majority” of Americans know that climate change is happening and want the U.S. to honor its commitments under the Paris climate agreement. Speaking at a U.N. climate conference in Marrakech, Kerry praised the Paris deal as a framework that is “built to last.” U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has called global warming a “hoax.”