Malaysia
Boat missing with 31 tourists
A boat carrying 31 people, including around 20 Chinese tourists, is missing after sailing out from an eastern Malaysian city, Chinese state media said Sunday. The Chinese Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah said the boat lost contact after leaving Kota Kinabalu on Saturday morning, according to the official Xinhua News Agency said. It was bound for Pulau Mengalum, an island about 38 miles west of the city. The report cited the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency as saying there were 28 Chinese tourists on board. But the Chinese Consulate could only confirm the passport details of 18 Chinese citizens, Xinhua said.
Russia
Protesters upset over church
Over 2,000 protesters rallied in St. Petersburg on Saturday against plans by the city authorities to give a landmark cathedral to the Russian Orthodox Church amid an increasingly passionate debate over the relationship between the church and the Russian state. St. Isaac’s, one of the most visited tourist sites in Russia’s old imperial capital, has been a museum since 1917. Some experts are concerned that when it gains ownership, the Orthodox Church will neglect the exhibits on display, which include a rare Foucault pendulum.
Iraq
Chemical warfare agent found
Iraqi forces discovered a mustard chemical warfare agent in eastern Mosul alongside a cache of Russian surface-to-surface missiles, an Iraqi officer said Saturday. Iraqi and U.S. officials have repeatedly warned of Islamic State group efforts to develop chemical weapons. When Iraqi forces retook Mosul University earlier this month, they found chemistry labs they believed had been converted into makeshift chemical weapons labs.
Egypt
Leader blasts ‘evil people’
Egypt’s president on Saturday called on Egyptians to stand together against terrorism, angrily denounced the “evil people” plotting against his country and made a stern warning: There would be no comeback if Egypt fell to Islamic militants. “Terrorism will not end unless we all stand together. Don’t cover your eyes and pretend that it does not concern you,” President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi told participants on the second and final day of a youth conference in the southern city of Aswan. “If Egypt is lost, it will not come back. Those who fall in the abyss never come back.”
Compiled from wire reports