World briefs

NORTH KOREA’s top diplomat says President Donald Trump’s tweet that leader Kim Jong Un “won’t be around much longer” was a declaration of war against his country by the United States. Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho told reporters yesterday that North Korea now has “every right” under the U.N. Charter to take countermeasures, “including the right to shoot down the United States strategic bombers even if they’re not yet inside the airspace border of our country.”

MYANMAR Officials said yesterday they have discovered at least 45 slain Hindus in three mass graves in the Southeast Asian country’s conflict-torn northern Rakhine state. The government blames Muslim insurgents for the killings, but international media say there is no immediate way to verify the assertions.

INDONESIA Nearly 50,000 people have fled the Mount Agung volcano on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali, fearing an imminent eruption as dozens of tremors rattle the surrounding region. Indonesian authorities have raised the volcano’s alert status to the highest level following a dramatic increase in seismic activity. More on p13

RUSSIA The U.N. human rights office said in a report yesterday that Russia is violating international law in Crimea by imposing Russian citizenship on its people and deliberately transferring hundreds of prisoners to Russia.

SYRIA U.S.-backed forces in eastern Syria say Russia bombed their positions yesterday in a major natural gas field they recently captured from Islamic State militants. The two sides are racing to defeat the militants and snap up oil and gas fields, fueling fears of conflict.

TURKEY-IRAQ Turkey is strongly opposed to the referendum Iraqi Kurds are holding on whether their semi-autonomous region should seek independence from Baghdad. The Turkish government, which has been fighting a Kurdish rebel insurgency for more than three decades, has threatened economic and military action. More on p14

ROMANIA’s ruling party yesterday backed two ministers who have been named in a criminal inquiry into allegations of abuse of office during a land transfer.

GERMANY Chancellor Angela Merkel defended an election campaign that left her conservative bloc in first place but significantly weakened as she embarked yesterday on what could be a lengthy quest to form a new government. More on p15