World briefs

CHINA’s factory activity ticked up again last month to its highest level in five years, according to an official survey released Friday, in a fresh sign that the world’s No. 2 economy is picking up steam.

COLOMBIA A grim search for the missing is ongoing in southern Colombia after surging rivers sent an avalanche of floodwaters, mud and debris through a city, killing at least 200 people and leaving many more injured and homeless.

USA The U.S. envoy to the UN says she’s maintaining a hard line against Russia, even as her boss – Donald Trump – continues to dismiss reported Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. election as fake news. “Certainly I think Russia was involved in the election. There’s no question about that,” Nikki Haley said.

PAKISTAN The custodian of a local shrine and his accomplices killed 20 devotees after intoxicating them in eastern Punjab province, police said yesterday, in what officials said was the outcome of a dispute over custodianship of the shrine.

SOUTH KOREA A cargo ship being used by a South Korean shipping company went missing near Uruguay with 24 crew members and authorities said two people have been rescued.

GIBRALTAR The British territory of Gibraltar will be “protected all the way” as the U.K. negotiates its exit from the European Union, said Defense Secretary Michael Fallon. The government is under pressure over the rights of Gibraltar’s 33,000 residents after European Union President Donald Tusk handed Spain a determining say on whether any Brexit deal will apply to the territory.

SOUTH AFRICA parliamentary Speaker Baleka Mbete said she’s considering a request to recall lawmakers to debate an opposition-sponsored motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma, after he made sweeping cabinet changes that top ruling party officials said was done without their consultation.

VENEZUELA’s president and Supreme Court backed down Saturday from an unprecedented move to strip congress of its legislative powers that had sparked widespread charges that the South American country was no longer a democracy.

ECUADOR In the latest test of whether left-of-center rule in Latin America has staying power, Ecuadoreans headed to the polls to pick a successor to Rafael Correa, the self-declared socialist who has led OPEC’s smallest member for a record 10 consecutive years.