IN BRIEF (Page 8)

China

Japan's attempt criticized

China on Friday slammed Japan's attempts to revise its history of aggression as it tried to retract its past apology on wartime sex slaves. "Any move taken by Japan to deny its crimes and overturn its aggressive history will spark firm opposition from the victim countries in Asia and the international community," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. Her comments came a day after Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga ordered an overall review of interviews with 16 South Korean "comfort women," who identified themselves as sex slaves during World War II.

Lebanon

Car bombing suspect arrested

Lebanese security forces have detained a Sunni militant suspected of recruiting suicide bombers and assembling car bombs for a radical group that was behind attacks on Iranian interests in Beirut, security sources said on Friday. They said Hassan Abu Afleh, arrested in Beirut on Saturday, is suspected of being a leading figure in the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, the group that claimed responsibility for Wednesday's twin suicide attacks near the Iranian cultural center that killed eight people.

Somalia

Militants raid leader's palace

Militants wearing suicide vests and carrying guns and grenades attacked the presidential palace on Friday in the latest attack in the capital of Mogadishu. The country's president was reported to be unharmed, but several others were killed. Police Captain Mohammed Hussein said the militants launched the attack with a car bomb, then tried to fight their way into the presidential palace as guards returned fire. A second police officer, Ali Hassan, said a second blast was heard during the attack.

Palestine

Kerry proposal found lacking

Ideas proposed by US Secretary of State John Kerry to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cannot "serve as the basis for a framework accord" with Israel, a Palestinian official said on Friday. "The ideas proposed cannot be accepted by the Palestinian side as the basis for a framework accord between the Palestinians and Israel as they do not take into account the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people," he said.

Indonesia

Workers export remains banned

A senior official of the Indonesian Manpower and Transmigration Ministry said on Friday that the moratorium on domestic worker placement in Saudi Arabia will remain in place despite the recent signing of a bilateral agreement on migrant workers between the two countries.

Reuters-Xinhua-AP

(China Daily 02/22/2014 page8)