World briefs

KOREA The two Koreas have agreed in a joint statement to hold talks on reducing military tensions and “actively cooperate” in next month’s Winter Olympics in South Korea. Senior officials of the rival Koreas gathered at the border village of Panmunjom yesterday for their first formal talks in about two years. 

MYANMAR is set to put two reporters from the Reuters news agency on trial this week after they were charged under a colonial-era state secrets act, in a case that highlights growing concerns about press freedom in the country. 

SINGAPORE police have arrested 17 men suspected of involvement in stealing oil from the largest Shell refinery in the world.

JAPAN’s Olympics minister says he is visiting Rio de Janeiro to learn from the city’s experience hosting the 2016 Summer Games. Shunichi Suzuki is on a three-day trip to Rio as part of preparations for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

AUSTRALIA Same-sex couples married in midnight ceremonies across Australia yesterday after the country’s last legal impediment to gay marriage expired.

SYRIA-ISRAEL Syria’s military accused Israel of launching missiles targeting its outposts near Damascus in a wave of three pre-dawn attacks yesterday and claimed that the Syrian air force hit one of the Israeli jets and shot down several of the missiles.

TURKEY In a calculated bid to irritate the United Arab Emirates, Turkey yesterday renamed the street on which the country’s embassy stands after an Ottoman military commander accused by an Emirati minister of pillaging the holy city of Medina.

GREECE Lawmakers in Greece are set to limit the powers of Islamic courts operating in a border region that is home to a 100,000-strong Muslim minority.

POLAND’s new prime minister reshuffled his Cabinet yesterday, ousting the controversial ministers of foreign affairs, defense, and the environment before heading off to Brussels for talks with top European Union officials.

ITALY-GERMANY Police in Italy and Germany seized 50 million euros in mafia assets and arrested more than 160 people, accusing them of running a huge mob-controlled commercial and political empire involving everything from bread and wine sales to funeral services, migrant housing, and garbage recycling.

BRAZIL’s combination of political polarization and passion for social media offers fertile ground for fake news in the run-up to this year’s elections, leading fact checkers have warned.