World briefs

SPAIN Politics and soccer will merge on Sunday when Barcelona becomes more than just a football club for Catalonia’s separatists. Barcelona’s home match falls on the day when the region’s secessionist leaders have vowed to defy authorities and hold a disputed referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government calls the vote illegal and has ordered a crackdown, sparking protests in the streets and universities. 

MALAYSIA-N.KOREA Malaysia yesterday banned its citizens from traveling to North Korea, prompting the region’s football governing body to postpone for the third time an Asian Cup qualifier match scheduled for Oct. 5 in Pyongyang.

CAMBODIA A court yesterday sentenced a British man suspected of involvement in the gangland-style slaying of another Briton in Thailand to eight months in prison for fraud.

CHINA-JAPAN Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended a ceremony yesterday marking the anniversary of diplomatic ties between Japan and China as well as China’s national day, in a display of his intent to improve delicate relations between the Asian neighbors.

YEMEN An Indian Catholic priest returned to India yesterday after being freed from 18 months of captivity by unknown kidnappers in Yemen. 

RUSSIA-TURKEY Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Turkey yesterday for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Iraq, Syria and Turkey’s decision to purchase a Russian-made missile defense system.

BRAZIL A new poll in Brazil says embattled President Michel Temer’s already dismal approval rating has sunk even further to a new historic low. Just 3 percent of respondents in the Ibope Institute survey approve of Temer’s administration, while 77 percent disapprove.

UNITED NATIONS A U.N. fund to help victims of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers and U.N. staff has now grown to USD1.5 million following contributions from 10 more countries including Sri Lanka, whose troops were implicated in a child sex ring in Haiti.