World briefs

SOUTH CHINA SEA Southeast Asian nations are expected to welcome an initial negotiating draft of a nonaggression pact with China on the South China Sea, but critics warn that the protracted talks provide a diplomatic cover for Beijing’s tenacious aggression in the disputed waters.

PHILIPPINES Federal prosecutors say a Filipino woman and five of her family members have been indicted for conspiring to funnel into the U.S. some USD20 million in Philippine public funds obtained through an intricate bribery and fraud scheme.

INDONESIA A court has outlawed Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, a network of militants that supports the Islamic State group, following a series of deadly attacks over the past two years.

MYANMAR A report says flooding in Myanmar has killed 12 people and forced more than 132,000 others to take shelter at nearly 300 temporary camps.

PAKISTAN The first ever Hindu elected to a general seat in Pakistan’s parliament says he wants to work on combatting early marriages and forced conversion, and on improving health care in his home region.

IRAN’s parliament announced yesterday it would hold a special session to question President Hassan Rouhani about the plummeting currency and struggling economy.

UAE The United Arab Emirates launched a three-month visa amnesty program yesterday, hoping to resolve a Catch-22 for foreign workers who are fined daily for overstaying their permits but prevented from leaving until they pay the penalties.

SYRIA Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy to Syria said that an agreement with Israel that includes Russian guarantees ensures that Iran-backed fighters will remain more than 80 kilometers away from Syria’s frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

TURKEY’s state-run news agency says Kurdish rebels have detonated an improvised explosive device on a road in southeast Turkey, killing a woman and her infant child.

SERBIA Police say two migrants have been found shot dead in the village of Dobrinci, some 40 kilometers from the capital city.

BRITAIN wants to align itself more closely with Asia’s growing economies as it prepares to leave the European Union, Trade Secretary Liam Fox said yesterday.

PERU Two passenger trains crashed near the popular Peruvian tourist destination of Machu Picchu, injuring 10 people, five of them seriously, authorities said.

VENEZUELA’s fractured opposition coalition is advancing in its efforts to unite around a new plan of action as the country’s economic crisis deepens, a key anti-government leader says.