World briefs

VIETNAM-INDONESIA Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said yesterday that his country and Vietnam have agreed to cooperate more in fighting illegal fishing and hope to boost two-way trade.

PHILIPPINES The president vented his anger toward his fiercest political critic on a state TV talk show yesterday, prompting opposition calls for him to focus instead on worsening inflation, rice shortages and an approaching powerful typhoon.

JAPAN proposed an end to a decades-old ban on commercial whaling at an international conference, arguing there is no longer a scientific reason for what was supposed to be a temporary measure.

INDIA A bus carrying pilgrims from a Hindu temple in the hills of south India plunged off a road yesterday, killing at least 55 people including four children, officials said. At least 33 others were injured. More on p12

IRAQ The brackish water pouring from the taps of homes in Basra has caused stomach ailments and skin rashes for thousands in the southern Iraqi city once famous for its network of freshwater canals that gave it the nickname the “Venice of the East.”

AFGHANISTAN A suicide bomber detonated his explosives-filled vest among a group of people protesting a local police commander in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, killing 32 and wounding about 130, a provincial official said. 

RUSSIA In an extraordinary public outburst, President Vladimir Putin’s former bodyguard and chief of the National Guard (pictured) yesterday challenged opposition leader Alexei Navalny to a duel.

HUNGARY The European Parliament is set to debate whether Hungary should face political sanctions for policies that opponents say are against the EU’s democratic values and the rule of law.

BRITAIN The Bank of England’s Mark Carney agreed yesterday to extend his period as governor by six months until January 2020 in order to help out in the initial phases of Britain’s exit from the European Union.

SPAIN The Catalan leader says the focus of the Day of Catalonia holiday must be on freeing the high-profile separatists who are awaiting trial for their part in the bid by the region to break away from Spain last year.

US-VENEZUELA A U.S. official has accused Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro of “rapacious corruption” and operating “a kleptocracy” on a rarely seen scale that includes not only embezzling from the state-owned oil company but stealing from a government program created to feed millions of hungry people.