World briefs

KOREA South Korean soldiers fired 20 warning machine gun rounds yesterday, turning back North Korean soldiers apparently pursuing a comrade who had earlier dashed across the rivals’ shared border. It is the fourth time this year a North Korean soldier has defected.

CHINA A Beijing court yesterday convicted 85 people, including 44 from self-ruled Taiwan, of running phone scams in Kenya and Indonesia that targeted Chinese people.

PHILIPPINES An inter-island ferry with 258 passengers and crew, including Christmas holiday travelers, sank yesterday after being battered by fierce winds and big waves off the country’s northeast. 

INDIA-PAKISTAN Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry will allow the mother and wife of an Indian naval officer facing the death penalty for espionage and sabotage to visit him in prison.

SAUDI ARABIA’s King Salman (right) reassured Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in their meeting that the kingdom continues to support Palestinian claims to Jerusalem, a government statement said.

RUSSIA-SYRIA The Russian parliament has voted to extend Russia’s lease of a naval base in Syria for 49 years following the announcement of a partial pullout of Russian troops from that country.

UGANDA One of Africa’s longest-serving leaders could rule until 2031 after Ugandan lawmakers passed contentious legislation that many in the East African nation saw as an attempt by the president to rule until the grave.

SPAIN Catalonia’s regional election is being fought by a motley crew of candidates, including the fugitive ex-president, the former vice president who’s jailed near Madrid and a newcomer who’s emerged as the homegrown response to Catalan separatism.

MEXICO International condemnation has rolled in over the murder of a journalist in Mexico’s Veracruz state, the latest in a wave of such killings seen as an assault on free speech in the country.

PERU President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is testifying before Peruvian opposition lawmakers intent on throwing him out of office in a sudden impeachment proceeding.