World briefs

CHINA-US The trade war escalated further yesterday, with China announcing retaliatory tax increases on USD60 billion worth of U.S. imports, including coffee, honey and industrial chemicals.

VIETNAM Seven people have died of suspected drug overdoses during a music festival in Vietnam.

PHILIPPINES A police officer who tried to persuade residents of a mining camp to move to safety as a powerful typhoon approached said yesterday they refused to leave, and a day later the storm triggered a huge landslide that buried dozens of people.

THAILAND Police yesterday announced three large seizures of illegal drugs, including 10 million methamphetamine pills and 37 kilograms of heroin hidden under sacks of chicken manure.

RUSSIA German doctors treating a member of Russian protest group Pussy Riot said yesterday that claims he was poisoned are “highly plausible,” but stressed they can’t say how this might have occurred or who was responsible.

INDIA Four policemen were suspended after a video on social media showed them failing to provide the victim of a mob lynching with medical assistance.

SYRIA A Russian reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by a Syrian missile over the Mediterranean Sea, killing all 15 people on board, the Russian Defense Ministry said yesterday. It blamed Israel for the crash, saying the plane was caught in the crossfire as four Israeli fighters attacked targets in northwestern Syria.

EGYPT Amnesty International says Egypt’s crackdown on freedom of expression has reached “alarming” levels, calling for the unconditional release of Egyptians jailed for peacefully expressing their views.

GERMANY The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency is being replaced after clashing with Chancellor Angela Merkel over anti-migrant violence in the country.

BRITAIN Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said yesterday that the U.K. will flourish with or without an agreement on its relationship with the European Union after it leaves the grouping next year.

BRAZIL The presidential candidate who has taken the place of barred former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says he won’t pardon the ex-leader if he wins election.

US One Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy was killed and another wounded after exchanging gunfire with a suspect at an auto shop just outside of the capital city.