World briefs

USA The Supreme Court is letting a limited version of President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from six mostly Muslim countries take effect, a victory for Trump in the biggest legal controversy of his young presidency. The court said yesterday that the ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen can be enforced if those visitors lack a “credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”

INDONESIA Rescuers in Indonesia are searching for a German hiker who has been missing for five days since he began climbing a dormant volcano, an official said yesterday.

MONGOLIA A horse salesman, a former judo star and a nationalist who wants Mongolia to gain a greater share of its mineral wealth were vying to be Mongolia’s new leader as the Central Asian’s nationals headed to the polls.

KOREA Pyongyang has rejected an offer from South Korea to form a united North-South team for the Winter Olympics in 2018. The games are to be held in South Korea next February.

IRAQ Syrian Kurdish forces say they have seized a new district from the Islamic State group in its self-declared capital, Raqqa.

CYPRUS The Greek Cypriot president of Cyprus has rejected a United Nations document that was supposed to act as a guide during a crucial summit this week to determine whether a deal reunifying the island is possible.

SOUTH SUDAN As South Sudan’s civil war creates the world’s largest refugee crisis and widespread allegations of sexual and ethnic violence, the government is clamping down on the news media, journalists claim. 

MALI A Swedish man kidnapped by Islamic militants in northern Mali nearly six years ago has been released from captivity, the Swedish government confirmed yesterday. There was no immediate word on the fate of a second hostage, from South Africa, who was also seized in Timbuktu.

VENEZUELA Young protesters broke down a metal fence guarding an air base in Caracas  before being repelled by security forces firing tear gas in another day of anti-government protests in Venezuela’s capital.

COLOMBIA A tourist boat packed with about 160 passengers for the holiday weekend capsized Sunday on a reservoir near the Colombian city of Medellin, leaving at least six people dead and 31 missing, officials said.