World Briefs

PHILIPPINES An Australian nun who irked the Philippine president by joining political rallies defied an Immigration Bureau order to leave the country and appealed to justice officials to allow her to continue her missionary work. 

INDONESIA’s parliament unanimously approved a tougher anti-terrorism law, lengthening detention periods and involving the military in counter-terrorism operations.

THAILAND Police have raided several factories near Bangkok that allegedly were using a loophole to illegally import and process electronic waste.

JAPAN-RUSSIA Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met in Moscow on the weekend for talks that included resolving a dispute over four Pacific islands and eventually signing a peace treaty.

INDIA-PAKISTAN At least four suspected militants were killed in a gunbattle with government troops after crossing into the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir from the Pakistani side of the disputed territory, the Indian military said.

OMAN A cyclone more powerful than any previously recorded in southern Oman slammed into the Gulf country and neighboring Yemen on the weekend.

GREECE’s fire service says an intercity bus plying a route near the Turkish border has been struck by lightning and burned to the ground. All 12 passengers, the driver and the ticket collector are safe.

GERMANY Supporters of the nationalist Alternative for Germany party marched through central Berlin to protest against Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government yesterday, while a heavy police presence kept the marchers away from a raft of counter-demonstrations.

SPAIN’s maritime rescue service says it has rescued 366 migrants attempting the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea this weekend.

US It was the moment the #MeToo movement had been waiting for: Harvey Weinstein in handcuffs. His face pulled in a strained smile and his hands locked behind his back, the once-powerful Hollywood figure emerged from a police station Friday facing rape and criminal sex act charge

COLOMBIA Citizens were casting their ballots yesterday in the first presidential election since the signing of a peace accord with the nation’s biggest rebel group.

MEXICO Officials in the central state of Guanajuato say seven bodies have been found in the city of Salamanca and they appear to be members of a criminal organization.