World briefs

INDIA’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting yesterday withdrew a sweeping new order clamping down on journalists accused of spreading fake news.

INDONESIA A commander of rebels in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua region says as many as 100 villagers have taken shelter with them in a mountainous jungle following an Indonesian military attack.

THAILAND  Police announced yesterday that they confiscated an estimated USD54 million worth of methamphetamine in one of their biggest-ever drug seizures and arrested 11 people in recent days as illegal drug cases surge in the country.

SOUTH KOREA A court said yesterday that it will allow a rare live broadcast of the verdict at the trial of disgraced former President Park Geun-hye later this week. 

PAKISTAN Gunmen riding on motorcycles carried out two separate attacks in the Pakistani city of Quetta killing five Muslims in one shooting and four members of a Christian family in the other.

YEMEN-S. ARABIA Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacked a Saudi oil tanker in the Red sea yesterday, causing “minor damage” to the ship, the Saudi-led coalition battling the rebels said.

ISRAEL’s defense minister said yesterday that the military will not change its tough response to Hamas-led mass protests near Gaza’s border with Israel, warning that those who approach the border are putting their lives at risk.

GERMANY Prosecutors said yesterday they are seeking the extradition of former Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont to Spain, where he could face trial for his role in organizing an independence referendum. 

FRANCE A major French railway strike has brought the country’s famed high-speed trains to a halt, leaving passengers stranded and posing the biggest test so far for President Emmanuel Macron’s economic strategy.

BRITAIN-RUSSIA The chief executive of Britain’s Porton Down defense laboratory says its scientists have identified the nerve agent used to poison Sergei and Yulia Skripal, but have not verified its “precise source.”

PERU New President Martin Vizcarra (left) has sworn in a Cabinet that aims to continue the pro-business policies of his disgraced predecessor while seeking to ease political tensions.

US Trump administration officials said they’re crafting a new legislative package aimed at closing immigration “loopholes” after the president called on Republican lawmakers to immediately pass a border bill using the “Nuclear Option if necessary” to muscle it through.