World briefs
ISRAEL-PALESTINE Clashes have erupted between Israeli police and Palestinian worshippers at a contested Jerusalem shrine, shortly after the site reopened following an 11-day Muslim prayer boycott. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets yesterday as Palestinians threw stones inside the walled compound that is holy to Muslims and Jews.
CHINA Beijing police have detained 67 people involved in a suspected pyramid scheme after its members held a rare, large-scale demonstration in China’s capital this week to protest the government’s investigation. More on p11
VIETNAM-MALAYSIA The Malaysian foreign minister, speaking at a joint briefing with his Vietnamese counterpart, says there is huge potential for the countries to increase their trade and investment. Malaysia is Vietnam’s seventh largest trading partner.
INDONESIA Five provinces have declared states of emergency as peatlands burn in Aceh and the risk of fires spreading elsewhere increases during the annual dry season.
JAPAN’s beleaguered defense minister, a protege of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will step down in connection with an alleged cover-up of military documents from U.N. peacekeeping operations, media reports said yesterday. More on p13
RUSSIA President Vladimir Putin is visiting Finland as the small nation celebrates 100 years of independence from its huge eastern neighbor. Putin arrived yesterday for talks with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto on bilateral relations and international issues.
UKRAINE Former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who moved to Ukraine to lead one of the country’s most corruption-ridden regions, says he will fight to keep his Ukrainian citizenship.
AUSTRIA’s chancellor says the European Union could “never, ever” digest the economic impact of Turkey joining, underlining his country’s hard line against membership.
LIBYA Human Rights Watch says that activists in western Libya have been physically attacked and threatened by armed groups, some affiliated with U.N.-backed government based in the country’s capital, Tripoli.
VENEZUELA The Trump administration has announced sanctions on 13 current and former members of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s administration. The U.S. also joined with a dozen other regional governments in urging Maduro to suspend Sunday’s election of a national assembly for rewriting the charter.
