World briefs

CHINA Thick smog is expected to shroud parts of north China over the next two days, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said yesterday. The NMC forecast that Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, Henan, Shanxi and Shandong provinces will be hit by light to moderate smog, with some areas experiencing severe smog today.

CHINA Ustin, a Siberian tiger released into the wild by Russian President Vladimir Putin, is suspected of raiding a goat farm in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, local authorities said yesterday. Experts on Siberian tigers believe it was Ustin who attacked the goats, killing two and with another three missing on Heixiazi Island in Fuyuan county, on Sunday night, sources from the county told Xinhua.

NEPAL Foreign ministers from eight South Asian nations meet in the Nepalese capital to prepare for a summit of regional leaders, including from rivals India and Pakistan. The meeting in Katmandu will finalize agreements and plan the agenda for the leaders’ gathering today and Thursday.

AFGHANISTAN Officials say the capital Kabul has been hit by two explosions, one of which wounded six Afghan army soldiers. Police say a roadside bomb targeted an Afghan National Army minibus, causing the casualties.

JAPAN When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe responded to Japan’s surprise recession by delaying a sales-tax increase, it was a cause for worry, not celebration, for many young Japanese. This generation, barely aware of their country’s economic heyday, frets that putting off tough decisions now could make the future even worse.

JAPAN-S KOREA Four South Korean men are arrested in southern Japan on suspicion of stealing an ancient Buddha statue. The suspects were found in possession of a copper Buddha statue that went missing from the Bairinji temple in Nagasaki prefecture.

PHILIPPINES-HONG KONG  The Philippine immigration bureau says it has lifted a blacklist order against nine Hong Kong-based journalists, following criticism from media and Hong Kong’s government. More on p12

USA Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s resignation comes at a messy moment for the U.S., with one war ending, another just beginning, and it raises the prospect of the first woman to lead the Pentagon.

IRAN The United States and Iran hope a new deadline in nuclear talks will allow them to finally reach a deal. But Tehran’s apparent reluctance to compromise may soon leave U.S. negotiators running out of ideas on how to reduce Iran’s capacity to make nuclear arms. Western diplomats familiar with the talks said yesterday they have agreed on little more than to keep talking until June 30, after failing to substantially narrow differences by Monday’s deadline in Vienna.

FRANCE  Pope Francis demands that Europe craft a unified and fair immigration policy, saying the thousands of refugees coming ashore need acceptance and assistance, not self-interested policies that risk lives and fuel social conflict.