World briefs

TAIWAN STRAIT China’s navy held live-fire exercises near Taiwan yesterday in a warning to the democratic, self-ruled island against what Beijing describes as “dangerous” remarks on independence. Few details about the drills in the Taiwan Strait have been released.

TAIWAN is emphasizing its ties with one of the few countries that grant it diplomatic recognition as President Tsai Ing-wen visits the tiny African kingdom of Swaziland. Tsai’s first trip to the nation of 1.3 million people marks 50 years of official ties between the two countries, the king’s 50th birthday and a half-century of independence.

NORTH KOREA President Donald Trump yesterday confirmed that his CIA chief secretly met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea and said “a good relationship was formed” heading into the adversaries’ anticipated summit. Mike Pompeo’s highly unusual talks took place “last week,” Trump tweeted.

ISRAEL Is the country a success as it turns 70? As Israelis commemorate the milestone this week, satisfaction and a grim disquiet share the stage. The grand peace hopes of the 1990s have mostly evaporated. Israel still feels endangered.

SAUDI ARABIA is to hold a private screening on Wednesday of the Hollywood blockbuster “Black Panther” to herald the launch of movie theaters in the kingdom that are expected to open to the public as early as next month. 

CUBA’s National Assembly will elect a new president today and announce the replacement for Raul Castro the next day, an unusual two-day process that will install someone from outside the Castro family in the country’s highest government office for the first time in nearly six decades.

USA Barbara Bush, the former U.S. first lady and literacy campaigner, has died at the age of 92. She was the matriarchal figure of a political dynasty that included two presidents. Bush, who was first lady from 1989 to 1993, had been in failing health for some time and had declined further medical treatment. Tributes to her poured in from across the U.S. political establishment and across the world.

USA A Colorado man who was wearing a mask and had a knife in his car when he was arrested outside a Beverly Hills home owned by Taylor Swift was released from custody while police continued their investigation.