World briefs

JAPAN The government starts offshore construction work on relocating a U.S. Marine base on Okinawa. The step marks the beginning of the main construction to move Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko, a less populated area on the island’s east coast.

CHINA A highly accurate Chinese ballistic missile capable of threatening U.S. and Japanese bases in Asia has made its latest appearance at recent Rocket Force drills.

CHINA A Chinese navy task force has wrapped up visits to four Persian Gulf states as the increasingly capable maritime force grows its presence in the strategically vital region. 

AUSTRALIA Seven percent of priests in Australia’s Catholic Church were accused of sexually abusing children over the past several decades, a lawyer says. 

AFGHANISTAN At least 119 people have been killed in recent days by avalanches caused by heavy snow in different parts of the country, more than doubling an earlier death toll estimate of 54.

PAKISTAN An Afghan diplomat in the port city of Karachi is killed by his security guard who opened fire inside the diplomatic mission, officials said.

THAILAND An Australian woman dies when the personal watercraft she was operating collided with one operated by her companion off the Thai island of Phuket, officials say.

INDONESIA Asylum seekers who have been in Indonesia for years rally in the capital urging the U.N. refugee agency to speed up the process of resettling them in third countries.

NEPAL A commission investigating deaths and abuses during a decade-long communist insurgency in Nepal says it has requested an extension because it has not completed the task of giving justice to thousands of victims and their families.

QATAR Airways launches the world’s longest scheduled commercial airline route with the arrival of its flight from Doha to Auckland, New Zealand.

GERMANY The head of the European Central Bank says that its monetary stimulus efforts are still very much needed despite the recent spike in inflation in the 19 countries that use the euro currency. Mario Draghi told members of the European Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee that the uptick in annual inflation to 1.8 percent was mainly due to higher oil prices.