World briefs

BREXIT The government lead by Theresa May is expected to suffer a defeat in Parliament over the right of European Union citizens to stay in the U.K. after Brexit. The House of Lords is due to vote early today [Macau time] on an amendment that inserts a commitment to protecting EU nationals’ rights into to a bill authorizing the start of EU exit talks.

SOUTH CHINA SEA Vietnam has slammed a fishing ban China has imposed in parts of the disputed South China Sea, saying it violates Vietnamese sovereignty and further complicates the tense situation in the troubled waters. China’s Ministry of Agriculture issued a seasonal fishing ban in parts of the South China Sea, including waters near the Paracel islands claimed by Vietnam but occupied by China.

CHINA has staged a fresh display of military might in its western Xinjiang region, sending more than 10,000 armed police, columns of armored vehicles and helicopters rumbling through the regional capital. A government news website published reports and photos of the exercise in Urumqi, where the region’s Party secretary exhorted soldiers to “bury the corpses of terrorists” in a new people’s war.

INDONESIA Saudi Arabia pledged USD1 billion in development finance for Indonesia and expanded cooperation in other areas, deepening ties with Southeast Asia’s biggest economy as the King Salman and a huge entourage arrived yesterday for a rare nine-day visit of a Saudi monarch.

NORTH KOREA A Canadian pastor serving a life sentence in North Korea has been allowed to meet with the Swedish ambassador in Pyongyang and telephone his family.

THAILAND The 49-story Bangkok high-rise was supposed to feature luxury condos for hundreds of newly affluent Thai families, but it was abandoned unfinished when the Asian financial crisis struck in 1997. Now called the “Ghost Tower,” it’s a monument to mistakes made and an object of curiosity to a steady stream of visitors. 

FRANCE Conservative candidate Francois Fillon is refusing to quit the presidential race despite receiving a summons yesterday to face charges of faking parliamentary jobs for his family. Calling the investigation a “political assassination,” Fillon called on his supporters to “resist” and said he would leave it up to voters to decide his fate in the April-May two-round election.

SLOVENIA Slovenian winemakers warned the European Union that Croatia has presented “partly forged” documents while getting permission to use the Teran red wine brand in the 28-nation bloc. Neighboring EU members Slovenia and Croatia have long been at odds over the use of the Teran name.