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PENANG, Malaysia — Malaysia has sent back 150 containers of plastic waste to 13 mainly rich countries since the third quarter last year, with the environment minster warning on Monday that those who want to make the country a rubbish bin of the world can “dream on.”

Shipments of unwanted rubbish have been rerouted to Southeast Asia since China banned the import of plastic waste in 2018, but Malaysia and other developing countries are fighting back.

Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin said another 110 containers are expected to be sent back by the middle of this year.

Yeo said the successful repatriation of a total 3,737 metric tonnes (4,120 U.S. tons) of waste followed strict enforcement at key Malaysian ports to block smuggling of waste and shuttering more than 200 illegal plastic recycling factories.

Of the 150 containers, 43 were returned to France, 42 to the United Kingdom, 17 to

TOKYO — Japan’s prime minister said Monday that his country will form a space defence unit to protect itself from potential threats as rivals develop missiles and other technology and the new unit will work closely with its American counterpart recently launched by President Donald Trump.

The Space Domain Mission Unit will start in April as part of Japan’s Air Self-Defence Force, Prime Minister Shinzo Abesaid in a policy speech marking the start of the year’s parliamentary session.

He said Japan must also defend itself from threats in cyberspace and from electromagnetic interference against Japanese satellites. Concerns are growing that China and Russia are seeking ways to interfere with, disable or destroy satellites.

“We will drastically bolster capability and system in order to secure superiority” in those areas, Abe said.

The space unit will be added to an existing air base at Fuchu in the western suburbs of Tokyo,

Paris commuters who were careworn after six weeks of misery-inducing transport strikes found their smiles again Monday as some subway workers ended their walkouts against a contested overhaul of France’s pension system.

A weekend announcement by the subway wing of the UNSA union of a return to work after 46 consecutive days of strikes produced a marked improvement in services as the French capital embarked on a new week Monday.

“It was very fluid,” said traveller Eric Lebrun, after taking a train and then riding the metro during the morning rush hour.

Lebrun travels weekly to Paris from Switzerland, where he lives, and said the strikes had had a “catastrophic” impact on his journey since they started Dec. 5.

“Now it’s much better,” he said.

For the first time since Dec. 5, services were completely or almost back to normal on 11 of Paris’ 16 subway lines, said the RATP

LONDON — Britain officially leaves the European Union on Jan. 31 after a debilitating political period that has bitterly divided the nation since the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Difficult negotiations setting out the new relationship between Britain and its European neighbours will continue throughout 2020. This series of stories chronicles Britain’s tortured relationship with Europe from the post-World War II years to the present.

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Europe has been a source of contention in Britain seemingly forever. That may be why no consensus has really ever existed over the benefits of being a member of the European Union and why the country has been so divided in the run-up to Brexit day.

Though there may be no bigger lovers of the horrors of Scandi-noir or the beaches of Greece than the British, feelings for the EU have been far more lukewarm during the country’s 47 years of membership. One of the ironies

TOKYO — Stock markets were trading in narrow ranges Monday as investors awaited central bank decisions and earnings reports due out in coming weeks. U.S. stock markets will be closed in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

In Europe, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.2% to 6,089, while Germany’s DAX edged up 0.1% to 13,541. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.3% to 7,654.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged 0.2% higher to close at 24,083.51, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2% to 7,079.50. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.5% to 2,262.64, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.9% to 28,800.63. The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.7% to 3,095.79.

China’s central bank left its one-year loan prime rate unchanged at 4.15%, holding off on easing credit further as it uses other methods to pump up liquidity in the markets ahead of the Lunar New Year.

The rate, based on quotes from major banks,