Politics

  Jakarta / AFP Indonesia on Monday defended opening fire on Chinese sailors as an action aimed at stopping illegal fishing, after the latest confrontation between the nations in the South China Sea. Beijing has protested strongly over clash near Indonesia’s Natuna Islands, saying one Chinese fisherman was injured. The Indonesian navy said that seven sailors and a Chinese-flagged vessel ...

  Geneva / AFP Widespread and ongoing violations against Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority, including denial of citizenship, forced labour and sexual violence, could amount to crimes against humanity, the United Nations warned on Monday. In a report on the human rights situation for minorities in Myanmar, the UN human rights office said it had found “a pattern of gross violations ...

  Cambodia / AFP Cambodia said on Monday it would deport 13 Taiwanese nationals arrested on fraud charges to mainland China, as Taipei said its emissaries had been prevented from meeting with the suspects. The imminent deportations come at a time of increased tensions between Taiwan and mainland China, with Taipei accusing Beijing of “abducting” citizens from countries that do ...

  WASHINGTON / AP Democrats get their long-sought votes on gun control a week after the massacre in Orlando, Florida, but election-year politics and the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA) dim any prospects for changes in the nation’s laws. The Senate was to vote on Monday night on four measures — two sponsored by Republicans, two by Democrats. All are ...

  Vienna / AFP Austria’s highest court began a public hearing on Monday on a legal challenge to May’s presidential election brought by the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), whose candidate only narrowly lost. The Constitutional Court’s open session was due to last four days and hear 90 witnesses. It aims to rule before the scheduled swearing-in of the election winner, Alexander ...

  BRUSSELS / AP Brussels remains on high alert with increased security after a weekend sweep which left three in jail facing terrorism charges. The MIVB metro system says a half dozen subway stations have reduced entry on request from authorities but all subway lines were running during the morning rush hour on Monday. On Saturday, authorities charged three men with ...

  London / AFP British lawmakers prepared to pay tribute to a slain MP in a rare show of unity on Monday as the EU referendum campaign entered its final stretch with rival camps vying to seize the momentum. Politicians will return to parliament, which had been in recess, for a special sitting to pay tribute to Jo Cox, a ...

  Luxembourg / AFP EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed to boost the bloc’s anti-people smuggling operation in the Mediterranean to include training of the Libyan coastguard and enforcing a UN arms embargo. Ministers also agreed to extend Operation Sophia’s mandate by one year, a statement said, as the European Union tries to stem a flood of migrants from North ...

  Oaxaca / AFP Unknown gunmen opened fire as police and teachers clashed in southern Mexico during a protest that left six people dead and more than 100 injured, authorities said. The violence erupted as police threw tear gas at the protesters to end a week-long barricade that was blocking a road in Asuncion Nochixtlan, a town in Oaxaca state, ...

  Nairobi / AFP A quiet protest movement is spreading in Burundi’s schools where hundreds of students have been suspended in recent weeks for defacing pictures of President Pierre Nkurunziza in textbooks. Scribbling on the presidential portraits contained in government-issue study guides is seen as an act of silent resistance against a regime that clings to power despite more than ...