World briefs

U.S. A U.S. interceptor scored a direct hit and appeared to result in the “complete obliteration” of a mock warhead over the Pacific Ocean in what the Pentagon said yesterday was a realistic test that mirrored the missile threat from North Korea and Iran. Vice Adm. Jim Syring, director of the Defense Department’s Missile Defense Agency, told Pentagon reporters that the test included decoys and replicated a very specific scenario in the Pacific.

VIETNAM Courts in Vietnam have sentenced six men to death for drug-related offenses in two separate cases, including the trafficking of 102 kilograms of heroin.

PHILIPPINES About 130 people have been killed in the violence in the country, which erupted last Tuesday after soldiers launched a raid to capture militant leader Isnilon Hapilon, who has been designated leader of the Islamic State group’s Southeast Asia branch. The unrest has boosted fears that the Islamic State group’s violent ideology is gaining a foothold in the country’s restive southern islands.

MALAYSIA A Malaysia Airlines plane was forced to return to Australia yesterday after a disruptive passenger attempted to enter the cockpit, the airline said. The airplane landed safely and the passenger was detained by airport security personnel, while the other passengers left the plane safely.

SRI LANKA The death toll from mudslides and floods in Sri Lanka has climbed past 200, with 96 others missing, the government said yesterday. Sri Lanka’s army, navy and air force are continuing relief and rescue efforts, supported by divers and navy personnel who have arrived from India.

RUSSIAN warships in the Mediterranean Sea have fired four cruise missiles at the Islamic State group’s positions in Syria, the Russian defense ministry said yesterday.

KENYA’s president on Tuesday opened the country’s largest infrastructure project since independence, a Chinese-backed railway costing nearly USD3.3 billion that eventually will link a large part of East Africa to a major port on the Indian Ocean as China seeks to increase trade and influence.

FRANCE President Emmanuel Macron yesterday justified his choice to back two ministers in his government whose past actions have clouded the new leader’s effort to clean up politics. Macron said that only the justice system, and not media reports, can decide whether the two will be prosecuted.

BRAZIL President Michel Temer insisted he’ll stay on the job until his term ends in December 2018 despite growing calls for his resignation over corruption allegations.