World briefs

IRAQ Islamic militants unleashed multiple suicide attacks in the city of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, killing at least 22 people, a provincial official said yesterday. Five suicide bombers on foot targeted a police patrol and broke into a police officer’s house in Tikrit’s al-Zihoor neighborhood, according to a Salahuddin provincial council member.

CAMBODIA began construction Tuesday of a new USD157 million football stadium funded by China, the Southeast Asian country’s most important ally.

THAILAND An heir to the Red Bull fortune has refused to answer questions about whether he will return to Thailand this month to meet with prosecutors over an alleged hit-and-run that killed a police officer almost five years ago. Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya was standing outside a residence in an exclusive London neighborhood but refused to say why he was in Britain.

THAILAND A Vietnamese cargo ship crashed into four riverside houses yesterday near the Thai capital, splintering the wooden and corrugated metal structures but causing no injuries.

PHILIPPINES Coldplay’s lead vocalist visited a fan with cancer on Tuesday, hours before the group played a packed concert at Manila’s seaside Mall of Asia Arena Concert Grounds.

MADAGASCAR A sapphire rush has brought tens of thousands of people into the remote rainforests of eastern Madagascar, disfiguring a protected environmental area and prompting calls for military intervention.

SYRIAia International donors pledged billions of dollars in aid for war-ravaged Syria as the U.N. Security Council convened yesterday for emergency talks over a suspected chemical attack that killed dozens in a rebel-held province.

GREECE Top Greek and European officials indicated yesterday that it’s possible to reach a breakthrough in the country’s difficult bailout talks over the next two days. Greece’s prime minister said that if a deal fails to materialize, the eurozone should hold a special summit.

NETHERLANDS Turks living in the Netherlands have begun voting in a referendum that could give Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan more power. Booths opened yesterday in Amsterdam, The Hague and Deventer so that around 250,000 Turkish voters who live in the Netherlands can take part in the referendum.

BRAZIL-COLOMBIA Brazilian club Chapecoense beat Colombia’s Atletico Nacional 2-1 on Tuesday in a highly emotional match that commemorated the victims of last year’s fatal air crash in South America.