World briefs

US-IRAN The Trump administration has thrown the weight of the U.S. government behind the protesters taking to the streets of Iran, rooting them on despite the risk of helping Iranian authorities dismiss a week of major demonstrations as the product of American instigation. 

SRI LANKA’s president said yesterday that a commission he appointed to investigate alleged irregularities in the sale of treasury bonds has recommended the prosecution of the country’s former finance minister on bribery charges.

US-PALESTINE U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to threaten to cut off aid money to the Palestinian Authority, asking why the U.S. should make “any of these massive future payments” when the Palestinians are “no longer willing to talk peace.”

ETHIOPIA In a surprise move, Ethiopia’s leader yesterday announced plans to drop charges against political prisoners and close a notorious prison camp in what he called an effort to “widen the democratic space for all.” This is the first time the government has acknowledged holding political prisoners.

MOLDOVA’s Constitutional Court has temporarily stripped the country’s pro-Moscow president of his duties for his refusal to endorse new ministers in a political standoff.

GERMANY The recent influx of mostly young, male migrants into Germany has led to an increase in violent crime in the country, according to a government-funded study published yesterday.

DENMARK Copenhagen police are investigating the theft of a bottle of vodka that is claimed to be the world’s most expensive at USD1.3 million.

NORWAY said yesterday it has suspended exports of munitions and arms to the United Arab Emirates as a “precautionary line,” based on its assessment of the situation in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition including the UAE has been fighting Shiite rebels for nearly three years.

PERU At least 48 people died when a bus tumbled down a cliff onto a rocky beach along a narrow stretch of highway known as the “Devil’s Curve,” Peruvian police and fire officials said.

BRAZIL’s state-run oil giant Petrobras has agreed to pay USD2.95 billion to settle lawsuits in the United States over the sprawling corruption scandal that has ensnared dozens of officials and business executives across Latin America.