World briefs

USA Ohio says it’s ready to resume executions in January after 3-year halt blamed on drug shortage.

CHINA-SINGAPORE Singapore accused a nationalist Chinese state-run newspaper of fabricating details in a news report that it said falsely depicted the city-state’s conduct at a recent summit in Venezuela.

PHILIPPINES President Duterte apologized to Jews worldwide Sunday after his remarks drawing comparisons between his bloody anti-drug war and Hitler and the Holocaust sparked shock and outrage. The tough-talking Duterte said his apology was intended only for the Jewish community. Duterte said in a speech that he never had any intention “to derogate the memory of the 6 million Jews murdered by the Germans.”
Philippines The Asian Development Bank has signed an agreement with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) on a risk-transfer scheme under which SIDA will guarantee USD155 million out of ADB’s $455 million basket of five loans to India — a first for a sovereign loan portfolio for any multilateral development bank, the ADB announced yesterday.

VIETNAMESE authorities say they’ve seized 309 kilograms of elephant tusks illegally imported from Nigeria. A customs official says the tusks were seized at Hanoi’s airport on the weekend. The official said yesterday that the cargo had been declared as glass.

TURKEY announced that it is extending a three-month-long state of emergency, declared after the country’s failed military coup, by a further three months as it presses ahead with a massive crackdown on a movement led by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

JAPAN The new robot from Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. can’t do much but chatter in a high-pitched voice. The 39,800-yen ($390), 10-centimeter (4-inch) -tall, doll-like Kirobo Mini — whose name comes from “kibo,” or “hope,” and “robot” — supposedly has the smarts of a 5-year-old. By Yuri Kageyama.

TENNIS Peng Shuai produced the upset of the first round in the China Open yesterday, beating sixth-seeded Venus Williams 7-5, 6-1. The 30-year-old Chinese wild-card entry broke Williams’ serve twice in the second set.