IN BRIEF

United States

Hawaii sues over revised travel ban

Hawaii has become the first US state to sue to stop President Donald Trump's revised travel ban. Attorneys for the state filed the lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court in Honolulu. The state had previously sued over Trump's initial travel ban, but that lawsuit was put on hold while other cases played out across the country.

France

Poll: Macron leads in first round

A new poll on Thursday showed centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron for the first time beating the far right's Marine Le Pen in the initial round of the French presidential elections next month. Macron's lead came as a growing list of backers from both the left and the center throw their support behind the 39-year-old former economy minister who is trying to upend France's traditional politics.

Japan

Abe's support dives over scandal

Support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has plunged after questions were raised in parliament about a murky land deal involving an elementary school to which his wife had ties, according to an online poll published on Wednesday. Abe has said neither he nor his wife, Akie, was involved in the deal for state-owned land purchased by Moritomo Gakuen, an educational body in the western city of Osaka.

Dprk

Two Malaysians allowed to leave

Two Malaysians working for the United Nations World Food Program who were stranded in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea amid a diplomatic fallout had left the country, a WFP spokesperson said on Thursday. Malaysian Deputy Foreign Minister Reezal Merican had said there were 11 Malaysian citizens stranded in the DPRK. With the two leaving, a total of nine Malaysian citizens are still left behind.

Australia

'Bieber' charged with 900 offenses

Police on Thursday urged fans of Justin Bieber and their parents to stay vigilant on the internet, after they filed charges over more than 900 child sex offenses against a man who impersonated the popstar online. Bieber, a 23-year-old Canadian with 92 million followers on Twitter, ranked among Forbes' most powerful celebrities from 2011 to 2013, is visiting Australia on his Purpose World Tour.

Malta

Storm destroys rock window

The Azure Window, a famous natural rock arch which jutted onto the sea off Malta and was a backdrop for the Game of Thrones TV series, has collapsed in a storm. Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat tweeted his "heartbreaking" sadness at the loss on Wednesday of one of the main tourist attractions on the island of Gozo. No one was injured.