World Briefs

CHINA A sinkhole in a northeastern Chinese city swallowed five people in a dramatic scene that was captured on security video and shared widely on Chinese social media. A provincial broadcaster said four people were injured in the Saturday incident in the provincial capital of Harbin. The surveillance camera video shows pedestrians walking or standing on the sidewalk when it suddenly gave in. Three people fell straight into the hole, while a woman clung to pipes just underneath the sidewalk. Another person standing on the edge fell sideways into the hole.

AUSTRALIA A Sydney man accused of recruiting foreign fighters to battle the Syrian regime lost a court challenge yesterday to the Australian law that he was charged with breaking. Hamdi Alqudsi, 41, was charged under the Crime (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act 1978 after he allegedly helped seven men go to Syria between June and October in 2013 so they could fight for Jabhat al-Nusra and other al-Qaida affiliates.

SOUTH SUDAN A spokesman for rebels in South Sudan expressed doubt yesterday that President Salva Kiir is committed to a peace deal he signed the previous day. There were no reports of fighting yesterday. While rebel and opposition leader Riek Machar is happy that Kiir signed the compromise agreement, the long list of reservations cited by Kiir signals “a lack of commitment,” said James Gatdet Dak, a spokesman for Machar.

UKRAINE  The Ukrainian government said yesterday it has reached a crucial deal with its international bondholders to lighten its public debt burden, a move that will help the country avoid default as it tries to cope with the devastating costs of war.

UKRAINE A Ukrainian official says seven government troops have been killed and 13 injured in the past 24 hours, a day after the warring sides said they had agreed to a cease-fire starting next week.

GREECE’s president has appointed the head of the country’s Supreme Court as prime minister to lead a caretaker government as the country heads to early elections next month. President Prokopis Pavlopoulos named Vassiliki Thanou as Greece’s new prime minister yesterday, making her the country’s first woman to hold the position.

IRAQ An Islamic State suicide bomber killed two Iraqi army generals yesterday as they led forces against IS positions in the turbulent Anbar province west of Baghdad, military officials said.

SOUTH AFRICA Oscar Pistorius’ parole board review will take place on September 18, meaning the Olympic athlete will have to spend at least another three weeks in jail.

YEMEN The Yemeni government is not negotiating with Shiite rebels who captured the capital, Sanaa, last September, Foreign Minister Riad Yassin said yesterday. The rebels, known as Houthis, and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh must lay down their arms and give the government full control over all of Yemen, as required by the United Nations, he said.