World briefs

CHINA A top Chinese military officer visited Syria this week in a show of support for President Bashar Assad’s embattled regime, official media reported yesterday, underscoring Beijing’s backing of fellow authoritarian governments and concerns about the spread of religious militancy.

PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte said he will not raise long-simmering maritime disputes with China at a meeting of Southeast Asian nations in Laos next month, preferring to talk quietly with Chinese officials.

MYANMAR Efforts by Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week to bolster ties with her country’s dominant northern neighbor China may hinge on whether she can resolve the fate of a massive, Chinese-funded dam project blocked by overwhelming local opposition. Suu Kyi was welcomed by Premier Li Keqiang at a formal ceremony yesterday as part of a visit that will include talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

KOREA The defection of a North Korean senior diplomat in London poses a major problem for Pyongyang on a number of fronts — not least of which is how to publicly respond.

AUSTRALIA-PAPUA NEW GUINEA Papua New Guinea and Australia said on Wednesday they have agreed to close a detention center on Manus Island for asylum seekers but they offered no details on when it will happen or on the fate of the 850 men being held there. Australia’s tough stance on migrants and refugees has long drawn condemnation from human rights groups. The country has a policy of sending people who try to reach its shores by boat to island detention centers, including Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

TURKEY Two car bombings targeted police stations in Turkey, killing at least six people and wounding 219 others, officials said yesterday. Authorities blamed that attack on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has launched a campaign of car bombings targeting police stations or roadside bomb attacks on police vehicles.

UKRAINE A government official says three troops have been killed and six wounded in fighting in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours. Fighting between government forces and separatists rebels has recently intensified despite a 2015 truce.

BOLIVIA Good leadership skills won’t be enough for Bolivian military officers seeking promotion to the rank of captain – they must now add ideological schooling. An academy that previously trained soldiers for U.N. peacekeeping missions will now aim to counter U.S. political and military influence abroad.