World briefs

BRITAIN Prime Minister Theresa May has made it clear: the U.K. will make a clean break from the European Union and leave its single market of some 500 million people. In her most direct remarks since the June 23 vote, May said yesterday that Britain must regain control of its laws and borders, even as she called on the bloc to negotiate a free-trade agreement that will benefit both sides.

TAIWAN-US A former premier will represent Taiwan at Donald Trump’s inauguration Friday, a visit likely to be closely scrutinized by China for signs the incoming president intends to make good on remarks suggesting a shake-up in relations between Taipei, Washington and Beijing. 

VIETNAM Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday urged Japan to invest more in the Southeast Asian country to become its top foreign investor. He said Vietnam would like to see Japan invest more in infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing and services.

INDONESIA A shallow earthquake rattled Indonesia’s third-largest city Medan, damaging houses and sending thousands of frightened people into the streets. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the quake’s magnitude at 5.7 and said it struck at a depth of 10 kilometers southwest of Medan on the island of Sumatra.

SYRIA Representatives of some Syrian rebel groups said they will attend talks sponsored by Russia and Turkey scheduled later this month, despite mounting violations of a cease-fire across the war-ravaged country. A rebel adviser said the talks will initially focus on ways to strengthen and monitor the cease-fire that went into effect Dec. 30.

TURKEY Police captured the gunman who carried out the deadly New Year’s nightclub attack in Istanbul, with officials saying yesterday that he’s an Uzbekistan national who trained in Afghanistan and confessed to the massacre. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, watches the opening ceremony of natural gas pipeline from Russia to Crimea during a live video link from the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. head of Crimea Sergei Aksevov, left, and acting Sevastopol governor Dmitry Ovsyannikov, right, look at. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

UKRAINE-RUSSIA Ukraine has filed a case against Russia at the United Nations’ highest court, accusing Moscow of illegally annexing Crimea and illicitly funding separatist rebel groups in eastern Ukraine. Kiev also is seeking compensation for deadly incidents including the 2014 shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

MEXICO Gunfire broke out in a crowded beachfront nightclub throbbing with electronic music, causing five deaths and setting off a bloody stampede by screaming concertgoers at an international festival in a Caribbean resort. At least one person died in the crush to escape and some of the 15 people wounded or injured were hurt in the rush out, authorities said.