World briefs
MALAYSIA Authorities have raided a construction site and detained 77 foreigners as part of a fresh crackdown on illegal immigration. As one of Southeast Asia’s richest countries, Malaysia has long attracted workers from nearby nations such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh and India.
THAILAND’s military government has approved the purchase of eight supersonic T-50TH trainer jets from South Korea at a cost of 8.8 billion baht (USD258 million). The South Korean planes will replace Czech-made L-39 trainers, which have been in service for more than two decades
MYANMAR Buddhist demonstrators have protested the arrival of the U.N. human rights envoy to Myanmar for an information-gathering trip in troubled Rakhine state, where security forces have been accused of rights abuses against the Muslim Rohingya minority.
PAKISTAN A deepening political crisis in Pakistan has spooked investors and risks fresh street protests amid a corruption probe into Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
SAUDI ARABIA said it will grant girls in public schools access to physical education, a decision that comes after years of calls by women across the kingdom demanding greater rights and access to sports.
CONGO Another 38 probable mass graves have been found in central Congo, where violence between troops and militia members has killed thousands of people since August, the United Nations announced yesterday.
GREECE After eight years of toil by the Greek people, the European Union says Greece is no longer breaking budget rules. Yesterday’s recommendation from the EU comes after a sharp improvement in the country’s finances following years of spending cuts and tax increases.
BRITAIN-SPAIN Queen Elizabeth II and her husband welcomed the king and queen of Spain with an extravagant military ceremony yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two countries over what Brexit means for the future of Gibraltar, a tiny British territory which borders Spain.
EUROPEAN UNION leaders and their Western Balkan counterparts pressed yesterday for continued economic integration amid Russia’s increasing influence in the region and the EU’s own troubles.
VENEZUELA Opponents of President Nicolas Maduro now find themselves rallying in support of an unexpected hero: the chief prosecutor who helped throw many of them into jail. Until recently, Luisa Ortega was seen as a hardline loyalist of the socialist administration, but now she is being lionized by the opposition for her decision to break with Maduro.
