Around the world

Guaid ó seeks ties with US military

CARACAS — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó said Saturday he has instructed his political envoy in Washington to immediately open relations with the U.S. military.

Guaidó said he has asked his ambassador, Carlos Vecchio, to open “direct communications” toward possible coordination. U.S.-backed Guaidó is leading a campaign to oust President Nicolás Maduro.

In recent days, Venezuelan security forces arrested National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano, the body’s No. 2 leader. Other lawmakers scrambled for refuge in foreign embassies amid renewed fears of a crackdown following an unsuccessful military rebellion.

Pakistan

4 assailants, 1 guard killed in hotel attack

QUETTA — Four insurgents armed with rifles and grenades attacked a luxury hotel in the southwestern coastal town of Gwadar on Saturday, triggering an intense, hours-long shootout in which one hotel guard and all the attackers were killed, officials said.

In a statement, the military said troops quickly responded to the attack on the Pearl Continental hotel and that all the guests were safely evacuated. The hotel guard was killed as the assailants opened fire with small arms.

A Baluch separatist group, the Baluch Liberation Army, claimed responsibility.

Switzerland

Landmark UN plastic waste pact is OK’d

GENEVA — Nearly every country in the world has agreed upon a legally binding framework to reduce the pollution from plastic waste except for the United States, U.N. environmental officials say.

An agreement on tracking thousands of types of plastic waste emerged Friday at the end of a two-week meeting of U.N.-backed conventions on plastic waste and toxic, hazardous chemicals.

Discarded plastic clutters pristine land, floats in huge masses in oceans and rivers and entangles wildlife, sometimes with deadly results.

Rolph Payet of the United Nations Environment Program said the “historic” agreement linked to the 186-country, U.N.-supported Basel Convention means that countries will have to monitor and track the movements of plastic waste outside their borders.

India

300 Himalayan yaks die from starvation

GAUHATI — At least 300 rare Himalayan yaks have died of starvation in the high mountains in the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim, close to the border with China, authorities said Saturday.

A team of local administrators and veterinarians visiting the heights of Muguthang and Yumthang in northern Sikkim discovered the animals’ corpses Friday, said government official Raj Yadav. He said the semi-domesticated animals became trapped in December after their passage to the nearest village was blocked by heavy snow.

Yadav said authorities tried several times to drop feed for the Yaks by helicopter, but failed because of inclement weather.

“The passage was cleared five days ago, after which our team trekked to the area to discover the tragedy,” he said.

Poland

Nationalists protest US support for Jews

WARSAW — Thousands of Polish nationalists marched to the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw on Saturday, protesting that the U.S. is putting pressure on Poland to compensate Jews whose families lost property during the Holocaust.

The protest took place amid a dramatic rise in anti-Semitic hate speech in public life in Poland and appeared to be one of the largest anti-Jewish street demonstrations in recent times. It also comes as far-right groups are gaining in popularity, pressuring the conservative government to move further to the right.

Protesters say the United States has no right to interfere in Polish affairs and that the U.S. government is putting “Jewish interests” over the interests of Poland.

“Why should we have to pay money today when nobody gives us anything?” said 22-year-old Kamil Wencwel. “Americans only think about Jewish and not Polish interests.”

Wire reports