World briefs

PHILIPPINES The leader of the largest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines said yesterday that 30,000 to 40,000 armed fighters would be “decommissioned” if an autonomy deal that is expected to be signed into law by the president this week is fully enforced.

THAILAND The young soccer teammates and their coach who were rescued after being trapped in a cave in northern Thailand were preparing yesterday to be ordained as Buddhist novices and monks.

INDONESIA Researchers say a government plan to give plantation companies new lands in exchange for restoring areas they destroyed could result in more tropical forests being cut down.

NORTH KOREA appears to have started dismantling key facilities at its main satellite launch site in a step toward fulfilling a commitment made by leader Kim Jong Un at his summit with President Donald Trump in June.

SAUDI ARABIA A young woman has been charged in the western city of Taif with breaking the country’s anti-harassment laws for jumping on stage and hugging a popular singer as he performed.

INDIA A paramilitary soldier was killed and two others wounded yesterday in an attack by rebels fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir, officials said. Militants on a motorbike sprayed gunfire at a group of soldiers in Srinagar, the region’s main city.

ISRAEL-SYRIA Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet it said had breached its airspace yesterday while advancing Syrian government forces retaking territory from rebels reached the Golan Heights frontier.

GREECE Wildfires raging through seaside resorts near the Greek capital torched homes, cars and forests, killing at least 74 people, authorities said yesterday. Greece endures wildfires every year but the latest fires were the deadliest to hit the country in decades. 

GERMANY Authorities yesterday arrested the wife of a Tunisian man detained last month over a plot to use the toxin ricin to carry out an attack in Germany, alleging that she was an accomplice.

VENEZUELA Inflation could top 1 million percent by year’s end as the country’s historic crisis deepens, the International Monetary Fund said.

MEXICO Authorities say two prisoners have walked out of a jail in northwestern Mexico dressed as guards with apparent assistance from two guards at the facility.