Briefly

GEORGIA

Ruling party loyalist elected president

The ruling Georgian Dream party's candidate, Mikheil Kavelashvili, has been elected president of Georgia, the Central Election Commission said on Saturday. Kavelashvili received 224 votes in an electoral college of 300 members, the commission said, surpassing the 200 votes required for victory. This marks the first time in Georgia's history that the president has been elected not by direct vote.

JAPAN

Protest against US military breaks out

Japanese citizens gathered outside the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Friday to protest sexual violence by US military personnel in Japan. The protest followed a district court sentencing a US Air Force serviceman to five years in prison for abducting and sexually assaulting a Japanese girl under 16 in Okinawa last year. Protesters decried the leniency of the sentence and called sexual violence by US military personnel intolerable. They slammed the government and police for withholding case details from Okinawa authorities.

UNITED KINGDOM

London joins bloc for trans-Pacific trade

Britain officially became the 12th member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on Sunday as it seeks to deepen ties in the region and build its global trade links after Brexit. The accession means Britain will be able to apply CPTPP trade rules and lower tariffs with eight of the 11 existing members from Sunday.

Agencies Via Xinhua