World briefs

TURKEY-EU Tensions between Turkey and Western Europe simmered yesterday, with Turkey’s foreign ministry formally protesting the treatment of a Turkish minister who was escorted out of the Netherlands over the weekend and what Turkey called a “disproportionate” use of force at a protest afterward. Turkey had a similar dispute with Germany last week.

CHINA  Damaging the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs could be a civil offense under a proposed draft of China’s civil law as the Communist Party further tightens the space for public discourse on historical issues. 

SOUTH KOREA The senior advisers to ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye offer to resign three days after the country’s Constitutional Court formally ended her rule because of a corruption scandal. 

NORTH KOREA The U.N. human rights office’s special rapporteur on North Korea says tensions caused by its ballistic missile and nuclear tests are jeopardizing efforts to improve human rights in the secretive country.

PAKISTAN Islamabad is hosting female lawmakers from 12 countries at a conference on the role of women in strengthening democracy. Along with those from Pakistan, women lawmakers from Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Australia, Romania, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Maldives, Indonesia and Nepal are attending the event.

JAPAN King Salman and hundreds of business leaders from Saudi Arabia are in Japan for talks expected to focus on economic ties. The visit is the first by a Saudi king in 46 years. 

US-VIETNAM Nick Ut Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer is retiring this month after 51 years with The Associated Press. A stunning black-and-white image from the Vietnam War that’s come to be known simply as “Napalm Girl,” changed his life.

USA-GERMANY Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Washington today ahead of her first meeting with President Donald Trump. The encounter between the trained physicist and veteran politician, renowned for her reserved style, and the billionaire real-estate outsider who has rocked American politics could produce an interesting dynamic. 

THE EUROPEAN UNION has extended for six months sanctions against 150 Russia-linked people over the territorial disputes in eastern Ukraine. The EU said in a statement yesterday that the asset freezes and travel bans for those concerned were extended because the situation on the ground had not changed.