World briefs

CHINA Smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. plans to raise up to USD6 billion in one of the biggest global stock market debuts in recent years as it tries to become a worldwide hardware-and-services brand alongside Apple, Google and Amazon.

TURKEY Early partial results in Turkey’s presidential elections show incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the lead, with challenger Muharrem Ince in second place. Turkey’s official Anadolu News Agency said that with 22 percent of the country’s ballot boxes counted, Erdogan was at 59.1 percent of the vote, with Ince at 26.5 percent. More on p15

THAILAND’s capital has hosted the Indian film industry’s biggest annual event, with awards given to top Bollywood actors and movies, and dazzling performances by Indian artists. The event was previously held in Macau.

SRI LANKAN police yesterday arrested two men accused of beating a leopard to death in an attack caught on video and widely condemned by wildlife activists.

NEW ZEALAND Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her partner have named their baby daughter Neve and say they want her to grow up in a world in which she can make choices about her family and career based on what she wants.

MALAYSIA Prominent Malaysian politican Anwar Ibrahim was taken to a hospital after complaining of back and shoulder pain. The 70-year-old was being treated late Saturday following a trip to Turkey, said Fahmi Fadzil, a spokesman for Anwar’s People’s Justice Party.

SOUTH KOREA The U.S. military said it moved 100 wooden coffins to the inter-Korean border to prepare for North Korea’s returning of the remains of American soldiers who have been missing since the 1950-53 Korean War.

EU The idea of screening Europe-bound asylum-seekers in North Africa and the Balkans gained support from several European Union leaders yesterday as tensions over how best to handle new arrivals threatened to undermine the bloc’s unity.

SYRIAN government forces advanced deeper into the southern province of Daraa yesterday under the cover of airstrikes, entering new villages amid reports that the U.S. has told rebels not to expect an American intervention to defend them from the army’s offensive.