World briefs

ANGOLA The Portuguese news agency Lusa is reporting that recently elected President Joao Lourenco yesterday removed Isabel dos Santos (pictured), the daughter of former President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, as chair of the state-owned oil company. Isabel dos Santos has been reported to be Africa’s richest woman.

INDONESIA Gunmen fatally shot an Indonesian police officer yesterday in the latest suspected attack by separatists near a giant gold and copper mine in easternmost Papua.

INDIA Hundreds of students marched yesterday in India’s capital to demand action to improve the city’s toxic air. New Delhi has been wrapped in a choking haze for much of the past week. The march was organized by representatives from the United Nations, private schools and the Sonalika company, a tractor maker.

AUSTRALIA Nearly two-thirds of Australians supported gay marriage in a postal survey that ensures Parliament will consider legalizing same-sex weddings this year, although the form any law would take and its allowances for religious objections sparked immediate debate. 

EGYPT  Officials say star singer Sherine Abdel-Wahab has been banned from performing in the country after she warned a fan against alleged health hazards involved in drinking water from the Nile River.

ZIMBABWE army said yesterday it has President Robert Mugabe (pictured) and his wife in custody and was securing government offices and patrolling the capital’s streets following a night of unrest that included a military takeover of the state broadcaster. The night’s action triggered speculation of a coup, but the military’s supporters praised it as a “bloodless correction.” 

TURKEY A Turkish court has ordered the release of six defendants in the trial against dozens of suspects for their alleged links to the Islamic State group and involvement in last year’s airport attack.

GREECE Flash floods turned roads into raging torrents of mud and debris outside Greece’s capital yesterday, killing at least 13 people, inundating homes and businesses and knocking out a section of a major highway. There were fears the death toll could rise further as rescue crews continue searching for potentially missing people in the western outskirts of Athens.

ECUADOR A court in Ecuador has paved the way for a criminal trial to begin against the nation’s vice president in an alleged corruption plot involving Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.