World briefs

US-N. KOREA Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned that if North Korea does not choose to negotiate on giving up its nuclear weapons that pose a growing threat to the United States it could trigger a military response. 

PHILIPPINES Government troops are trying to validate intelligence information that a Malaysian militant leader survived the defeat of an Islamic State group-linked siege and is helping restart efforts to establish an extremist alliance, a military official said yesterday. 

PAKISTAN Police say a senior officer known for leading raids on militant hideouts escaped assassination when a suicide bomber riding on a motorcycle blew himself up near his vehicle in the port city of Karachi.

TURKEY is set to extend a state of emergency for the sixth time since it was imposed following failed 2016 coup attempt, worrying government opponents and allies who fear the special powers are thrusting Turkey toward an increasingly authoritarian direction.

ISRAEL-PALESTINE The Palestinian president yesterday again blasted Donald Trump in a fiery and emotional speech, saying the U.S. leader’s decision to recognize contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was “sinful” and “ill-fated.”

EGYPT-ETHIOPIA Ethiopia’s prime minister has arrived in Cairo for a two-day visit to discuss a massive dam that Egypt fears will cut into its share of the Nile, at a time of heightened tensions among the countries that rely on the river.

SLOVENIA  Police yesterday found 20 migrants from Pakistan in a van that crashed after entering the country illegally from Croatia on a quest to reach Western Europe, while a U.N. humanitarian envoy visited migrants who also want to move on but are stuck in Serbia.

SPAIN Catalonia’s new parliament yesterday elected a pro-secession speaker, virtually guaranteeing that the push for independence for Spain’s northeastern region will continue as its lawmakers prepare to elect a new government.

PERU Prisoners convicted of crimes like robbery and drug trafficking at a prison in the Peruvian Amazon are using their time behind bars to build simple wooden chairs that indigenous leaders will use while meeting with Pope Francis.

VENEZUELA Officials in Venezuela confirmed that a rebellious police officer who led a brazen helicopter attack in Caracas last year was among those killed in a violent shootout with security forces.