World briefs

SOUTH CHINA SEA China’s coast guard has continued to seize the catches of Filipino fishermen at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea despite a protest by the Philippines following an earlier incident, two Philippine officials said.

VIETNAM Authorities released from prison and expelled a prominent human rights lawyer and another dissident, both of whom were sent to Germany, a pro-democracy group said.

THAILAND Four villagers were shot dead in Thailand’s south in another case of violence in the insurgency-wracked region.

JAPAN A knife attack on a Japanese bullet express train near Tokyo left one passenger dead and two others injured, police said yesterday, as they arrested a suspect who was on top of a man lying unconscious. More on p12

PAKISTAN The party of Pakistan’s former military dictator Pervez Musharraf has announced that he will run for a seat in parliament in the July 25 national elections.

IRAQ An Iraqi security official says three bombs have exploded in the northern city of Kirkuk killing a woman and wounding 18 others.

SYRIA President Bashar Assad said in an interview published yesterday that the West is fueling the devastating war in his country, now in its eighth year, with the aim of toppling him.

SWITZERLAND Election projections indicate that voters approved by a wide margin a proposal to license online gambling through Swiss companies and to block offshore online gambling sites.

SPAIN Tens of thousands of Spaniards from the northern Basque Country have formed a line that stretched over 200 kilometers to demand a ballot on secession for the wealthy region.

BRITAIN The chairman of the British Parliament’s media committee said yesterday that a millionaire backer of the successful campaign to leave the European Union has questions to answer about his contacts with Russian officials.

GUATEMALA’s Volcano of Fire released a flow of burning sediment and rock, causing authorities to order new preventative evacuations a week after the initial eruption left at least 110 people dead and about 200 missing.

PANAMA The U.S. government has agreed to extradite former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli to his home country to face political espionage and embezzlement charges.