World briefs

CHINA Organizers say concern about the spread of the Ebola virus is expected to impact attendance at China’s largest international trade fair, which kicked off yesterday. Spokesman for the Canton Fair Liu Jianjun was quoted in Chinese newspapers as saying he expects to see a fall in the number of foreign buyers, especially those from African countries. About 500,000 buyers and exhibitors usually attend the biannual event in the southern city of Guangzhou, including about 15,000 from Africa. While no restrictions have been placed on visitors from Ebola-hit countries, they will be closely monitored, yesterday’s China Daily newspaper quoted Liu as saying.

CHINA Media say a rare Siberian tiger released into the wild by Russian President Vladimir Putin has attacked a henhouse in northeastern China, raising concerns that farmers may hunt it down. The official Xinhua News Agency says the animal known as Kuzya was believed to have eaten five chickens in a raid on a farm in Heilongjiang province’s Luobei county over recent days.

CHINA Eight people were killed in a clash between construction workers and villagers in China’s southwestern region of Yunnan, authorities said yesterday, as land disputes grew more violent. The Tuesday clash on the construction site for a warehouse and logistics center in Jinning county also left 18 people injured, the local government said in an online statement. It said six construction workers and two villagers were killed.

KOREAS Military generals from North and South Korea meet at a border village for talks on how to ease animosities between the rival countries following two shooting incidents last week, South Korean media say.

PAKISTAN’s military says Indian forces have fires across the border into the Pakistan-administered portion of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, wounding four children.

AUSTRALIA Australian literature-lovers cheered yesterday after Richard Flanagan won the prestigious Booker Prize with a visceral story of wartime brutality and its aftermath — a novel the head of the judging team said was as powerful as a kick in the stomach. The country’s government may be less pleased. Flanagan in a post-awards interview that Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s environmental policies made him “ashamed to be Australian.”

AUSTRALIA-IRAQ Australia’s prime minister says Australian special forces sent to Iraq haven’t been able to enter the country yet because the Iraqi government has not provided the necessary legal guarantees.

YEMEN Shiite rebels who last month overran Yemen’s capital win another stunning victory, capturing a key port city on the Red Sea in a move that underlines their apparent intent to create a “mini-state” in the mostly chaotic and lawless country at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Control over the city of Hodeida gives the rebels, known as the Houthis and widely suspected of links to Shiite Iran, a vital sea outlet needed to lend viability to any future entity, but adds considerably to the troubles of Yemen’s U.S.-backed president.

ALGERIA Algerian police have marched to the president’s headquarters in an unusual protest movement prompted by violence against security forces. The unrest in southern Algeria and protests in the capital come amid concerns that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is too ill to rule Africa’s largest country, an ally in U.S. efforts against terrorism. Bouteflika has been largely absent from the public eye since his re-election in April. A few hundred police officers protested in the capital yesterday, a day after a similar march Tuesday.

UK The Scottish National Party says Nicola Sturgeon will be its next leader, replacing Alex Salmond, who is stepping down after failing to secure independence in a referendum last month. The party said yesterday that Sturgeon had been elected unopposed. Her leadership will be confirmed at a party conference next month. She will also become Scotland’s first minister once the Scottish Parliament confirms the choice.

PORTUGAL Unlike fellow bailout country Ireland, Portugal’s government is prolonging into 2015 the main features of its unpopular austerity program, resisting the temptation to sweeten its policies in what will be an election year.