World briefs

AFGHANISTAN-US In a long rambling letter, the spokesman for the Taliban tells U.S. President Donald Trump that it’s time to leave Afghanistan. The letter, emailed to journalists, was written on behalf of the so-called Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s spokesman, warns Trump that peace will be elusive as long as foreign troops are on Afghan soil.

CHINA  Authorities have shuttered the website and social media accounts of a prominent economics think tank amid a mounting assault on liberal academic voices. 

SOUTH KOREA Prosecutors say they plan to question impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye and search her office by early next month over a huge corruption scandal involving Park and her longtime confidante. Earlier in the day, Park’s confidante, Choi Soon-sil (pictured), called the investigation unfair.

KUWAIT hangs seven prisoners, including a royal family member, a Filipina and a woman convicted of killing more than 40 people, in a mass execution, the first death sentences carried out in several years in the oil-rich emirate.

CAMBODIA  Celebrity chefs from Paris to Los Angeles swear by Kampot pepper, a southwestern Cambodian spice with a tragic past that is now reclaiming its global pre-eminence.

AUSTRALIA The premiere of “Tanna,” Australia’s first-ever Oscar nominee for a foreign language film, was as far from Hollywood glamor as one can get. The guests gathered not in an opulent theater, but in a cyclone-flattened village on a remote island.

RUSSIA A manager in charge of investigating hacking attacks at Russia’s biggest cybersecurity firm has been arrested, the company said. Kaspersky Lab confirmed reports in Kommersant newspaper that Ruslan Stoyanov, head of its computer incidents investigations unit, was arrested in December. Stoyanov was arrested along with a senior Russian FSB intelligence officer and that they both face charges of treason.

RUSSIA-US Moscow has “no illusions” that strained relations between Russia and the United States can quickly improve under President Donald Trump, Russia’s foreign minister told the parliament yesterday. Russian officials previously cheered Trump’s election and expressed hopes of better ties between the two countries.

MIGRANT CRISIS The European Commission urged European leaders to endorse sweeping measures to help stop tens of thousands of desperate people from leaving Libya in search of better lives in Europe, with thousands dying during the perilous journey. The Commission said that the leaders should “deploy the full range of EU missions and projects” to help Libyans manage their borders and protect migrants.