World briefs
MYANMAR Several hundred Buddhist nationalists, including monks, rallied in Myanmar’s largest city on Wednesday to urge stronger action against insurgents from the Muslim Rohingya minority for attacks on police last week. The attacks in Rakhine state in western Myanmar have spiraled into chaotic violence, with more than 100 dead and villages torched.
CAMBODIA A court has found a 63-year-old Korean man guilty of child sex offenses and sentenced him to 14 years in prison. A spokesman for the Siem Reap provincial court said Park Youl was found guilty yesterday of child prostitution and sexual intercourse with girls under 15 years of age.
THAILAND Customs officials have seized more than 100 live pangolins and 450 kilograms of scales from the endangered animal in their latest action against illegal wildlife trafficking, the customs department chief said yesterday.
MALAYSIA Host Malaysia won 145 gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games to emerge as overall champion for the first time in 16 years, making it a double celebration as it ushered in its 60th anniversary of its independence from British rule.
INDIA A five-story building collapsed in India’s financial capital of Mumbai, killing 12 people and injuring 14 others yesterday, after torrential rains lashed the country’s west. Another 25 people are feared trapped in the debris.
TURKEY Seven people were injured in western Turkey after an explosive device was detonated yesterday, according to officials.
GERMANY City authorities in Frankfurt plan to evacuate more than 60,000 people from their homes on Sunday to defuse a World War II bomb found during construction work.
FRANCE President Emmanuel Macron’s labor reforms, aimed at boosting investment and jobs by doing away with rigid rules, have been criticized from both left and right on the political spectrum. The French government announced the proposed changes yesterday.
US-RUSSIA The United States is retaliating against Russia by forcing closure of its consulate in San Francisco and scaling back its diplomatic presence in Washington and New York. The State Department says the move brings the U.S. and Russia into “parity,” with each having three consulates in the other country.
