The World in Brief

In this Thursday, March 15, 2018, photo, former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, left, gets into a car to leave the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seoul, South Korea. South Korean prosecutors said Monday, March 19, 2018 they have requested an arrest warrant for Lee over corruption allegations. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
In this Thursday, March 15, 2018, photo, former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, left, gets into a car to leave the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seoul, South Korea. South Korean prosecutors said Monday, March 19, 2018 they have requested an arrest warrant for Lee over corruption allegations. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Warrant sought for ex-Korea chief

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korean prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant for ex-President Lee Myung-bak over allegations of bribery, embezzlement and other charges, officials said Monday.

Lee, a conservative who governed from 2008 to 2013, is the latest South Korean leader to be entangled in scandals after leaving office. Lee's conservative successor, Park Geun-hye, was removed from office and jailed last year in a separate corruption scandal. Prosecutors last month demanded a 30-year prison term for Park, the country's first female president.

Prosecutors accuse Lee of taking a total of $10 million in bribes from his own intelligence agency, business groups and a former lawmaker. Prosecutors also allege Lee used an auto parts manufacturer as a channel to establish illicit slush funds totaling $28 million.

Lee has called the allegations political revenge by the current government of liberal President Moon Jae-in.

Egypt says raidskilled 36 militants

CAIRO -- Egypt's military said four troops and 36 Islamic militants died in the past five days of fighting in the restive Sinai Peninsula.

Monday's statement said one officer was among the four army personnel killed. It also said eight soldiers were wounded.

The military said it also destroyed 400 hideouts, munition and weapons depots and dismantled 93 explosive devices during the operation.

It said 345 suspected militants and fleeing criminals were arrested.

Since Egypt launched the wide-scale operation more than a month ago, 20 troops have been killed.

Egypt has been battling Islamic militants for years, but the insurgency grew deadlier after the 2013 ouster by the military of Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist president whose one year in office proved divisive.

Consul smuggledguns, Israel says

JERUSALEM -- A French employee of the French Consulate in Jerusalem is under arrest for allegedly smuggling weapons from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, Israel's domestic security agency said Monday.

The Shin Bet said the man, identified as Romain Franck, 23, was part of a broader Palestinian smuggling ring. It said he used his consular vehicle, which is subjected to more lenient security checks, to transport the weapons through Israel's tightly secured border with the Gaza Strip. It said he took part in the ring for financial gain and that his employer was unaware of his actions.

The Shin Bet said Franck transferred a total of 70 handguns and two assault rifles on five occasions over recent months. It said he received the arms from a Gaza man employed at the French cultural center in Gaza and took them to someone in the West Bank, where they were then sold to arms dealers.

The Shin Bet said Franck, who was arrested in February, confessed to the charges. A gag order on the case was lifted Monday.

A Section on 03/20/2018

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