World Briefs

PHILIPPINES Prosecutors said they will file charges of tax evasion against a news website that has been critical of President Rodrigo Duterte.

VIETNAM’s National Assembly yesterday ratified a Pacific Rim trade deal abandoned by U.S. President Donald Trump, but still being pushed forward by 11 other members.

MYANMAR The United Nations refugee agency yesterday cautioned against returning ethnic Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar from Bangladesh at this time, urging that officials be allowed to assess whether it is safe for them to return. 

PAKISTAN has launched yet another vaccination drive against polio, trying to eradicate the crippling disease from the country.

AFGHANISTAN A senior Russian diplomat said yesterday that Moscow is trying to be an Afghan peace broker because it considers the U.S. has failed in Afghanistan. 

TURKEY The coast guard yesterday recovered four bodies and was still searching for six missing migrants after their boat sank in the Aegean Sea, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported.

ISRAEL-PALESTINE Chanting “revenge” and flanked by masked gunmen in camouflage, thousands of mourners in the Gaza Strip yesterday buried seven Palestinian militants killed in an Israeli incursion as the ruling Hamas group launched a feverish security sweep across the territory.

GERMANY The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party is under fire for receiving dubious campaign donations from abroad.

BRITAIN’s European Union partners yesterday ratcheted up political pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May amid signs that some progress is being made in Brexit negotiations.

PORTUGAL An Air Astana plane with six crew on board and no passengers declared an emergency over Portugal after experiencing problems with its command and control system but landed safely just over an hour later, a senior Portuguese Air Force officer said.

MEXICO Thousands of people marched in Mexico City to protest President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s plans to cancel a new USD13 billion airport for the capital.