World briefs

SPAIN Police say they have arrested more than 200 people of Chinese origin in a crackdown on gangs that ran call centers that swindled 16 million euros from compatriots in China. A National Police statement yesterday said the gangs made contact with people in China, warning them of fraud scams, and later pretending to be police investigating the scams, convinced many of victims to put money in bank accounts run by gangs.

PHILIPPINES-CAMBODIA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has arrived in Cambodia on a state visit, where a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen will bring together two Southeast Asian leaders known for their tough-guy approach to governing.

THAILAND An Australian mining company says it is shutting down its gold mine in Thailand, laying off more than 1,000 workers, following a Cabinet resolution and an executive decree that cited environmental and health concerns. It said it will not come back unless it gets an “ironclad guarantee” from the government that it will be allowed to operate without interruption.

INDONESIA A female would-be suicide bomber arrested one day before her planned attack in Indonesia’s capital said she took orders from an Indonesian with the Islamic State group in Syria accused of orchestrating several attacks in the past year.

JAPAN A U.S. military Osprey aircraft crash-lands off Japan’s southern island of Okinawa after its propeller was damaged during refueling training, and all five crewmembers are rescued. More on p12

JAPAN-RUSSIA Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be the first G-7 leader to welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin for an official visit since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Despite continued sanctions on Russia, Abe is eager to make progress on a 70-year-old territorial dispute that has kept their countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II.

PAKISTAN-INDIA Officials from the two countries say they will consider resuming direct talks on water sharing after the World Bank halted a process to arbitrate a longstanding dispute over two Indian hydroelectric projects.

SAUDI ARABIA’s King Salman vowed yesterday to prevent other nations from intervening in neighboring Yemen, where it has been at war with Iranian-backed Shiite rebels since March 2015.

EASTERN EUROPE The United States has decided to accelerate the deployment of troops to Poland, the Baltic states and Romania as part of raising the security of the region, Polish and U.S. defense officials said yesterday.