World briefs

NORTH KOREA Hundreds of foreigners joined in the annual Pyongyang marathon yesterday despite political tensions that have only recently begun to ease and a ban on U.S citizens traveling to the country that is still in effect.

VIETNAM A former top police official in Vietnam was arrested on suspicion of involvement in a multimillion-dollar international gambling ring, part of the ruling Communist Party’s crackdown on corruption.

INDONESIA A fishing boat has rescued a group of five Muslim Rohingya found in weak condition off westernmost Aceh province after a 20-day voyage that killed five other people.

PAKISTAN Thousands of people from Pakistan’s tribes have rallied in the northwestern city of Peshawar demanding the release of scores of suspects being held by authorities on alleged links to militants.

SYRIA An alleged gas attack killed at least 40 people in the eastern suburbs of Damascus, local responders said yesterday. Syrian state media, meanwhile, reported that rebels there have agreed to give up their last foothold in the area.

ISRAEL Police say a Palestinian who tried to stab an Israeli in the West Bank has been shot. Police said the attacker was armed with a long screwdriver and was trying to stab the Israeli when another civilian drew a gun and shot the Palestinian.

LIBYA Authorities have found the remains of three children abducted for ransom more than two years ago near the capital, in a case that highlighted the security deterioration in the country since the 2011 uprising.

HUNGARY Long lines of Hungarian voters stretched for blocks yesterday outside polling stations in Budapest, with some waiting for two to three hours to cast their ballots as Prime Minister Viktor Orban sought a fourth term.

ITALY’s populist 5-Star Movement is facing criticism after organizers of a conference on its future refused access to a newspaper reporter deemed critical of the party.

CANADA A hockey arena became the epicenter of grief for a small Canadian town yesterday, as friends and relatives gathered to mourn 15 people killed after a semi-trailer slammed into a bus carrying a youth hockey team in western Canada.

MEXICO Authorities in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua say that police who were providing security for the governor have been attacked. Gov. Javier Corral was not harmed.