World briefs

SINGAPORE A disc jockey is challenging a law that bans sex between men, a holdover from British colonial days that conservatives insist on keeping but authorities have promised not to enforce. 

PHILIPPINES At least 14 people, mostly elderly villagers, died when the brakes of an overloaded passenger van failed while traveling on a winding road, sending it down a ravine in a mountain province in the northern Philippines.

JAPAN Signs of undersea volcanic eruptions were detected at Iwo Jima, the site of one of the bloodiest battles in World War II, meteorological and defense officials said yesterday.

AFGHANISTAN The Taliban are ready for a second round of talks with the U.S., possibly this month, which is likely to focus on prisoner exchanges, confidence building measures, and ways to move from back-door meetings to formal negotiations.

ALGERIA Heads have been rolling in the Algerian army, the North African nation’s most respected institution, and in other security services, with generals in top posts fired — without explanation — at a rate never before seen.

SYRIA Turkey urged the international community “to vocally and actively support” Turkish calls for a cease-fire in Syria’s last rebel-held stronghold in neighboring Idlib province where Syria and its allies have intensified attacks ahead of an expected offensive.

VATICAN Pope Francis is summoning the presidents of every bishops conference around the world for a February summit to discuss preventing clergy sex abuse and protecting children — evidence that he realizes the scandal is global and that inaction threatens to undermine his legacy.

GERMANY Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested yesterday that Germany must be prepared to respond if chemical weapons are used in war zones, remarks that come amid a debate over possible military involvement in the Syrian conflict.

SPAIN Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell says that he would prefer for jailed Catalan separatist leaders to be free while awaiting a trial for their role in last year’s push for independence from Spain.

BRAZIL In a letter from his jail cell, former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called on tens of millions of supporters to vote for the man he named to replace on the Workers’ Party ticket in October’s presidential election.