Briefly

JAPAN

Suga may not attend summit in South Korea

Japan may not attend a leaders' meeting with South Korea and China later this year unless "proper measures" are taken in a dispute between Seoul and Tokyo over compensation for wartime forced labor, Japanese media said on Tuesday. Ties between the two neighbors soured after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered a Japanese steel-maker to pay compensation for forced labor, which prompted Tokyo to impose export curbs on some key high-tech materials. South Korea was set to host the trilateral summit, held roughly once a year, but the Kyodo news agency quoted diplomatic sources as saying it would be "impossible" for new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to visit unless Japan's concerns over the issue are addressed. It added that this view had been conveyed to South Korea.

ITALY

Conte orders strict new anti-virus measures

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has ordered strict new anti-coronavirus measures, including limits on private gatherings and a ban on casual pickup sports. Conte negotiated with the country's regions to win limits on private gatherings, over the objections of some governors. Parties in closed spaces are banned, but the measures, imposed on Tuesday, are limited to "strong recommendations "against private gatherings in homes with more than six people who don't live under the same roof. Bars and restaurants must close by midnight, and drinks can only be consumed at tables－not while standing at the bar or outside－after 9 pm.

SOUTH CAUCASUS

More attacks reported despite cease-fire

Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday accused each other of attacks over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh despite a cease-fire deal brokered by Russia to try to end the worst outbreak of hostilities in the region in decades. The cease-fire came into effect on Saturday, but was immediately challenged by mutual claims of violations that persisted since then. Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanian said Azerbaijani forces were "intensively shelling the southern front" of the conflict zone on Monday morning. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry called those accusations "disinformation "and insisted that Azerbaijan was observing the cease-fire. The ministry in turn accused Armenian forces of shelling the Goranboy, Terter and Agdam regions of Azerbaijan.

LIBYA

Nearly 10,000 migrants rescued so far this year

The International Organization for Migration on Monday said that a total of 9,839 illegal immigrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast so far in 2020. The rescued include 671 women and 532 children, it confirmed. The organization also said that 199 migrants died and 275 others have gone missing on the Central Mediterranean route so far this year. Because of the state of insecurity and chaos since the fall of Muammar Gadhafi's government, Libya became a preferred point of departure for illegal immigrants who want to cross the Mediterranean toward Europe.

Agencies - Xinhua