World briefs

CHINA has released two prominent human rights lawyers detained nearly two years ago, after they allegedly confessed in court to collaborating with foreign organizations and media to smear and subvert Communist Party rule. Xie Yang (left, above) and Li Heping are home free.

CHINA 18 people were injured when a man attacked people on a city street with a knife in northern China. The Changchun police department said on its microblog that the 50-year-old suspect the attack was taken into custody after being shot. It said none of the injuries were life-threatening and officers were looking further into any possible motivations.

VIETNAM’s ruling communists fired the party boss in the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City after finding he made “serious mistakes and violations” while heading oil and gas monopoly PetroVietnam.

SOUTH KOREA President-elect Moon Jae-in said as he took his oath of office that he was open to visiting rival North Korea under the right conditions to talk about Pyongyang’s aggressive pursuit of nuclear-tipped missiles. 

MYANMAR Police Yangon fired warning shots to break up a confrontation between Buddhists and Muslims that left at least one person injured. It was the latest manifestation of years of rising anti-Muslim sentiment in the predominantly Buddhist nation, where ultra-nationalist Buddhist monks and their supporters forced the closure of two Muslim schools last month.

AUSTRALIA A man who squashed a lemon meringue pie into Qantas Airways chief executive Alan Joyce’s face during a public address says he was protesting Joyce’s advocacy for same-sex marriage. 

US-RUSSIA President Donald Trump welcomed Vladimir Putin’s top diplomat to the White House for Trump’s highest level face-to-face contact with a Russian official since he took office in January.  Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (pictured, above, left) entered through the West Executive entrance, out of range for reporters to ask questions.

UK Police say three teenage women who were suspected of involvement in terrorism have been released without charge. They said no further action will be taken against the two 18-year-olds and one 19-year-old, who were released yesterday. The three had been arrested May 1 on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of terrorist acts.

SOUTH AFRICA A leading university says it is investigating Nazi-inspired posters that have appeared on campus notice boards, the BBC reported. Stellenbosch University condemned “racial superiority and any attempts to polarise” the campus, a spokesman said. The posters, reminiscent of Nazi propaganda to rally support for Hitler, called for a “Fight for Stellenbosch”.