World briefs

IRAQ The Arab League is calling on Iraqis to renounce their differences and open comprehensive dialogue to avoid clashes following a controversial independence referendum held by the country’s Kurds. While the referendum is not binding and not expected to immediately lead to independence, it has shaken the region, eliciting condemnations from Iraq’s neighbors as well as the United States and the United Nations.

CHINA It is no secret that the bulk of Ivanka Trump’s merchandise comes from China. But just which Chinese companies manufacture and export her handbags, shoes and clothes is more secret than ever, an Associated Press investigation has found. 

US-NORTH KOREA The U.S.’s top military officer said yesterday that he’s not seen any shifts in North Korea’s military posture despite the reclusive nation’s threats to shoot down U.S. warplanes amid the “charged political environment” between Washington and Pyongyang. 

Mongolia’s ruling People’s Party yesterday chose a replacement for the prime minister dismissed earlier this month over allegations of corruption and incompetence, as the resource-rich Asian nation struggles with an economic crisis and political infighting.

VANUATU An erupting volcano has forced 6,000 people to flee their homes on an island in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu. The Manaro volcano on Ambae island has been active since 2005, but a recent increase in activity has raised fears of a major eruption.

ISRAEL A Palestinian gunman yesterday killed three Israeli security men and critically wounded a fourth outside a West Bank settlement before being shot dead, in one of the deadliest attacks of a two-year spate of violence. More on p15

POLAND’s president and defense minister are visiting Polish and other NATO members’ troops as they perform major defense exercises in the country’s northwest. For the first time, the biannual drill is being joined by Poland’s new Territorial Defense Forces, which train civilian volunteers to support regular troops.

EUROPEAN UNION French president Macron has proposed a shared European military intervention force and defense budget as part of his vision for the future of the European Union.

VENEZUELA’s top diplomat has accused U.S. President Donald Trump of acting like “the world’s emperor,” batting back Trump’s biting rebukes of Venezuela on the global stage of the U.N. General Assembly.