Briefly

PAKISTAN

Meeting of defense chiefs held in Istanbul

Top diplomats and defense chiefs from Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan met in Istanbul on Monday for the inaugural meeting of their joint defense committee, established under the recently signed Makkah Joint Defense Agreement. The Strategic Political and Defense Committee meeting was held at the Ciragan Palace along the European shores of the Bosphorus Strait behind closed doors. On the sidelines of the meeting, the three sides held separate bilateral talks.

SOUTH KOREA

Unification Church leader sentenced

A South Korean court sentenced the leader of the secretive and powerful Unification Church on Monday to two years in prison on charges of bribing officials, including the then-president's wife. Han Hak-ja, 83, was accused of providing luxury items to former first lady Kim Keon-hee while her husband, Yoon Suk-yeol, was president, to secure policy favors. She arrived on Monday for sentencing — at which prosecutors had sought a 13-year term — in a wheelchair. The Unification Church has a range of business interests, including media, education and food distribution, and has long drawn scrutiny over its political ties in South Korea.

SWITZERLAND

Suspect arrested after deadly rave shooting

Swiss police said on Monday that they had arrested a 43-year-old suspect in connection with a deadly shooting incident at a rave in the town of Aarau on the weekend. A 22-year-old Italian woman was killed and five people injured after the shooting at the event at a covered horse race track in the early hours of Sunday.

EUROPEAN UNION

Italy, Spain extend border controls

Italy said on Monday it would suspend its open-border arrangements with Spain for another 15 days, extending restrictions it imposed after a mass rush of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta a month ago. In response, Spain said it would also keep checking passengers arriving from Italy by air and sea for 15 more days, prolonging tit-for-tat restrictions that have undermined the European Union's passport-free Schengen zone.

AGENCIES-XINHUA