World briefs

INDONESIA A helicopter carrying eight people crashed yesterday while on the way to help with evacuations near a volcano that erupted on the main Indonesian island of Java. Officials didn’t know the fate of the people on board, but villagers said they found two bodies at the crash site. 

CHINA-US Less than three months after U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s leader met at Mar-a-Lago, the White House is suddenly engaged in a multipronged pressure campaign against Beijing. Delivering a one-two punch to China late last week, the Trump administration approved a USD1.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan and blacklisted a small Chinese bank over its business ties with North Korea.

PHILIPPINES U.S. and Philippine navy ships have patrolled waters in the southern Philippines where kidnappings by ransom-seeking Abu Sayyaf militants have sparked a regional security alarm. The coordinated patrol, which was aimed at detecting and deterring threats, “was safe and routine,” the US Navy reported.

AUSTRALIA Cricketers in the country will boycott an Australia tour of South Africa unless Cricket Australia takes action within days to resolve a bitter pay dispute, the players’ union said yesterday.

INDIA Shops and businesses reopened in India amid confusion Saturday, hours after the government introduced a new nationwide tax that will change the cost of nearly everything people buy, replacing a complicated mix of state and federal taxes.

TURKEY’s official news agency says two ruling party officials serving in district organizations have been shot and killed, and ruling party officials blamed Kurdish militants.

FRANCE’s president is promising support for a new multinational force against extremists in Africa’s vast Sahel region as he meets in Mali with leaders from five regional countries. President Emmanuel Macron said that France will provide combat support, 70 tactical vehicles and communications equipment to the new 5,000-strong force.

BRITAIN Key government ministers are pressuring Conservative British Prime Minister Theresa May to ease austerity and remove a pay cap for public sector employees.

BRAZIL Security forces have briefly detained a 23-year-old woman who climbed over a fence and entered the residence of President Michel Temer. The president was asleep inside the palace at the time.