World briefs

CHINA says its military seized a U.S. Navy unmanned underwater glider in the South China Sea but it would give the drone back. But President-elect Donald Trump tweeted later that the Chinese government should be told “we don’t want the drone they stole back” and “let them keep it!” 

SOUTH KOREA The jailed confidante of disgraced South Korean President Park Geun-hye begins a trial today that will explore a scandal that led to Park’s impeachment after millions took to the streets in protest. 

SPAIN Several thousand workers took to the streets of Madrid yesterday to protest the Spanish government’s labor policies of recent years as the country emerges from a long economic downturn.

SPAIN’s two main labor unions, UGT and CCOO, organized a march in the capital under the theme “People and their rights first.” The march follows more than 60 smaller protests held by unions in recent days across the country.

POLAND’s president met separately with opposition party leaders yesterday to help solve a political crisis, as anti-government protests were held for the third straight day. Political tension is rising between Poland’s conservative government and the pro-European Union opposition over the ruling party’s plan to restrict journalists’ access to lawmakers in parliament. 

RUSSIA The Investigative Committee said yesterday that at least 18 people had got poisoned after consuming a bath lotion containing alcohol in Irkutsk, Russia’s sixth-largest city with a population of 1.1 million. Eight of them have died and the 10 others have been hospitalized in grave condition.

MEXICAN football star Cuauhtemoc Blanco said Saturday he has gone on a hunger strike to defend his mayorship of the city of Cuernavaca. Blanco began sitting outside the city’s cathedral before dawn underneath a banner reading “respect the votes of the citizens.” Blanco was elected to the mayorship last year, despite his lack of previous political experience.

VENEZUELA President Nicolas Maduro extended the use of the nation’s 100 bolivar bill until Jan. 2 after the government’s decision to pull its largest denomination note out of circulation left the country short of cash, sparking violent protests and looting. Maduro’s decision to extend use of the most-widely-used bill came as the president said replacement higher-denomination notes were unavailable because three planes transporting them to the country were “victims of  international sabotage.” He did not give details of the alleged sabotage.