Briefly

AUSTRIA

New govt takes office, keeping far right out

Austria's centrist coalition government, the first three-party alliance since the aftermath of World War II, took office on Monday, ending Austria's longest-ever wait for a new government and keeping the far-right Freedom Party, or FPO, in opposition. Although the FPO won September's parliamentary election with about 29 percent of the vote, it failed to form a coalition government. When the FPO last month gave up trying to agree on a government, the conservative People's Party, Social Democrats and liberal Neos revived a bid to form an alliance.

JAPAN

2,000 firefighters battle forest blaze

More than 2,000 firefighters are battling Japan's biggest forest fire in three decades, officials said on Monday, as some 4,600 residents remain under an evacuation advisory. One person died last week in the blaze in the northern region of Iwate, which follows record low rainfall in the area and last year's hottest summer on record across Japan. The fire near the city of Ofunato has burned through some 2,100 hectares since Thursday, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said on Monday. It is estimated to have damaged 84 buildings by Sunday, the agency said.

SYRIA

Committee formed to draft legal reference

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced on Sunday the formation of a committee to draft a constitutional declaration for the country's transition after the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. Syria's new authorities have repealed the Assad-era constitution, and Sharaa has said rewriting it could take up to three years. In late January, Sharaa promised a "constitutional declaration" to serve as a "legal reference" during the country's transitional period.

Agencies - Xinhua