World briefs

JAPAN is gearing up to accept more foreign workers as its own population is on the brink of a steep decline, Foreign Minister Taro Kono said.

INDONESIA A court sentenced an Islamic militant yesterday to 11 years in prison after finding him guilty of conducting training in preparation for a terrorist attack.

MYANMAR In the face of global condemnation, Myanmar’s leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday said that the handling of Rohingya Muslims, 700,000 of whom have fled to Bangladesh amid a brutal military campaign, could have been better.

INDIA Health authorities are rushing medical supplies to north Indian towns and villages where at least 50 people have died from fever over the past two weeks

SYRIA The army, backed by allies Iran and Russia, is preparing for a military offensive to retake the country’s last major rebel stronghold —the province of Idlib.

TURKEY central bank yesterday raised its key interest rate sharply, from 17.75 percent to 24 percent, to contain inflation and stem the currency crisis that has been destabilizing the country this summer.

ROMANIA’s prime minister has requested financial help from the European Union to deal with the financial effects of a serious outbreak of African swine fever.

GERMANY Police forcibly removed protesters from tree houses yesterday as they sought to free the way for parts of an ancient forest to be cleared next month for new coal strip mining.

ANGOLA-S. AFRICA The remains of a former rebel commander were repatriated from South Africa yesterday in an effort by Angolan President Joao Lourenco to reconcile with the opposition.

US A San Francisco board has voted unanimously to remove a 19th century statue that activists say is racist and demeaning to indigenous people.

BRAZIL In his first full day as the presidential candidate for Brazil’s Workers’ Party, Fernando Haddad pledged to be his own man if elected and not bow to financial markets or the interests of other countries, including the United States.