World briefs

MONTENEGRO Once the Balkan stronghold of pro-Russian sentiments, tiny Montenegro is silently celebrating its entry into NATO in a historic turn that has made the Kremlin furious. Despite the Russian anger and a deep split within the nation of some 620,000 people over the issue, Montenegro formally became the 29th member of the Western military alliance at a ceremony in Washington yesterday.

PHILIPPINES Opposition lawmakers petitioned the Supreme Court yesterday to review and nullify President Rodrigo Duterte’s imposition of martial law in the southern third of the country.

INDIA successfully launched its heaviest-ever rocket yesterday which it hopes will eventually be able to carry astronauts into space, a feat that only Russia, the United States and China have achieved, its space agency said.

IRAQ Mosul’s children are bearing the brunt of the intensified fight between U.S.-backed government forces and the Islamic State group in the city’s western half, the United Nations children’s agency warned yesterday.

MOROCCO An official with West Africa’s regional bloc says leaders of the 15-nation group have agreed “in principle” on Morocco’s membership application for membership, though more assessments will be made.

SPAIN Madrid is gearing up to host an international LGBT pride celebration by installing “inclusive” and “gender equal” traffic signals across the city. Figures of women or girls started going up yesterday at intersections that previously featured the familiar figure of a man in mid-stride to let pedestrians know when to cross.

VENEZUELA Jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez is urging supporters to keep demonstrating as an anti-government protest movement that has claimed more than 60 lives enters its third month. Former Spanish President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez visited Lopez at the prison on Sunday, but did not say what they discussed.

US President Donald Trump is launching a major push for a USD1 trillion overhaul of the nation’s roads and bridges, a key item on his domestic agenda that’s gained little traction amid a slew of controversies that have engulfed the White House.

WORLD BANK The world economy will pick up speed this year and next, helped by steadier commodity prices and a pickup in global trade, the World Bank said. The anti-poverty agency predicts 2.7 percent growth this year and 2.9 percent in 2018.