World briefs
THAILAND Police say they have arrested 44 people — 19 Chinese citizens and 25 Taiwanese — suspected of running a telephone scam. The suspects made calls over the internet in which they claimed to be banking officials and accused their targets of financial crimes.
CHINA’s foreign minister says he hopes construction of a new Thai railway can start immediately so Thailand will have better access to Chinese markets.
HONG KONG equities climbed to a two-year high amid speculation mainland investors are buying the city’s stocks to escape a small-cap selloff onshore. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.5 percent at the close.
JAPAN Grilled by opposition lawmakers as approval ratings for his Cabinet sink, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday repeated his denials that he misused his influence to help a friend in a growing favoritism scandal. The questioning outside parliament’s ordinary session, a rare occurrence, underscores the ruling Liberal Democrat party’s eagerness to regain public trust.
NEW ZEALAND British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson joked on his visit to New Zealand yesterday that a traditional Maori greeting could be misinterpreted as a head butt elsewhere.
ISRAEL-JORDAN A deadly shooting at Israel’s Embassy in Jordan further complicated Israeli government efforts yesterday to find a way out of an escalating crisis over a major Jerusalem shrine, including mass Muslim prayer protests and Israeli-Palestinian violence.
TURKEY Journalists and staff from a Turkish newspaper staunchly opposed to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have gone on trial in Istanbul, accused of aiding terror organizations — a case that has added to concerns over rights and freedoms in Turkey.
EU-RUSSIA European Union officials are “activating all diplomatic channels” to press home their concerns that looming U.S. energy sanctions against Russia could affect Europe’s energy supplies, a spokesman said yesterday.
POLAND Peaceful protesters who spent over a week marching by candlelight celebrated a significant victory yesterday when President Andrzej Duda unexpectedly announced that he will veto two of three contentious bills they had opposed which would have sharply curtailed the independence of the judiciary.
BRAZIL-URUGUAY Police in Paraguay say a shooting at a nightclub near Brazil has left four Brazilian citizens dead and 10 people wounded. The incident took place in the northeastern city of Pedro Juan Caballero, separated by just a street from Ponta Pora in Brazil.
