World briefs

CHINA-VIETNAM Vietnam and China have called for restraint in resolving disputes in the South China Sea, adding that the two countries should manage the disputes and not expand them.

INDONESIA’s military said yesterday that one solider has been killed in an ongoing clash between security forces and Papuan independence fighters near the U.S.-owned Grasberg copper mine in the country’s east.

MALAYSIA Authorities said yesterday that they have stepped up patrols to intercept a boat thought to be carrying dozens of people from Myanmar’s beleaguered Rohingya Muslim minority seeking refuge in the country.

INDIA A special plane carrying the bodies of 38 Indian construction workers killed by the Islamic State group in Iraq arrived in the northern Indian city of Amritsar yesterday. 

TURKEY-RUSSIA Ties between Russia and Turkey are growing closer than ever, as Russia runs into widespread diplomatic fallout from the poisoned spy scandal and Turkey’s relations with its Western allies worsens over human rights issues and its military operations against Kurdish militia in Syria.

ISRAEL said yesterday it has reached an agreement with the United Nations to scrap its contested plans to deport African asylum seekers and will resettle many of them in Western countries instead.

SOUTH AFRICA Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, prominent anti-apartheid activist and the ex-wife of Nelson Mandela, died in a hospital yesterday after a long illness, her family said. She was 81.

FRANCE’s national train company is warning that a workers’ strike will disrupt train service within France and elsewhere in Europe today and tomorrow.

COSTA RICA Voters gave a resounding no to an evangelical pastor who rose to political prominence by campaigning against same-sex marriage, allowing Costa Rica’s governing party to win an easy presidential victory.

BOLIVIA A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck deep beneath Bolivia yesterday, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.