World briefs

CHINA Xi Jinping told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un he hopes Pyongyang and Washington can fully implement the outcome of last week’s nuclear summit at which Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization in exchange for U.S. security guarantees. More on p11

THAILAND’s prime minister said yesterday his military government will hold elections only after a coronation ceremony for the new Thai king takes place, casting fresh doubt on promises the polls will be held by February next year.

PAKISTAN’s elections oversight body has rejected the nomination of former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf, barring him from running for office in elections to be held next month.

MALAYSIA The father of a Mongolian model whose murder touched off a scandal in the highest levels of Malaysia’s recently ousted ruling party said he will ask new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to reopen the investigation into his daughter’s death.

PHILIPPINES The Supreme Court upheld the expulsion of its chief justice, the authoritarian president’s highest-ranking critic, in a final ruling that critics warned is unconstitutional and threatens judicial independence and the country’s democracy.

SAUDI ARABIA King Salman sacked the head of the country’s entertainment authority after religiously conservative citizens took to social media to denounce a Russian circus show that included female performers in tightly-fitted attire, semi-official media reported yesterday.

SWEDEN The fatal shooting of three men in Malmo, Sweden’s third largest city, was the latest incident in suburban feuds between criminal gangs fighting over territory or honor. 

UN  The number of countries involved in “violent conflicts” is the highest in 30 years, while the number of people killed in conflicts has risen tenfold since 2005, the U.N. secretary-general said yesterday.