World briefs

JAPAN A few months ago, Shinzo Abe faced calls to resign as a cronyism scandal sent his popularity tanking. Today he’s expected to easily win a party vote that could make him Japan’s longest-serving leader.

THAILAND Extreme efforts by two Thai female fans to meet their South Korean idol have raised concerns about security procedures at Thailand’s main airport. The two women’s misadventures were exposed when one posted photos on Instagram detailing how they got into the secure arrival zone at a Bangkok airport.

MYANMAR The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor announced that she is launching a preliminary investigation into deportations of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar into Bangladesh.

NEW ZEALAND plans to increase the number of refugees it takes each year from 1,000 to 1,500, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced yesterday, with the quota taking effect from 2020.

INDIA’s government yesterday approved an ordinance to implement a top court ruling striking down the Muslim practice that allows men to instantly divorce.

YEMEN The U.N. food agency said yesterday that time was running out for aid groups working in Yemen to prevent a “devastating” famine in the war-torn country.

SYRIA Thousands of people who were recently displaced by violence in northwest Syria have returned home following a Russia-Turkey deal that averted a government offensive on the last major rebel stronghold.

TURKEY A construction workers union says 24 of its members have been detained in the aftermath of protests denouncing poor working conditions at Istanbul’s new airport.

EUROPEAN UNION EU Brexit envoy Michel Barnier said that his team is studying ways to carry out checks on goods moving into Northern Ireland in an effort to overcome a major obstacle in the negotiations, on the eve of a summit of EU leaders.

FRANCE President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to create a memorial museum to honor the victims of terrorism and said a committee will immediately start working on the project.

BRAZIL Experts with UNESCO say it could take years to restore Brazil’s National Museum and the vast collections that were ravaged by a fire on September 2.

MEXICO is commemorating victims of the Sept. 19, 1985, earthquake that left at least 9,500 dead, starting with a solemn ceremony in Mexico City’s central plaza.