IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Libya

Tripoli clashes kill 22, hurt 72

Clashes in the Libyan capital of Tripoli killed 22 people and injured 72 others on Saturday, the interim Libyan government said early Sunday. "Heavily armed groups continued striking vital locations and civilians. The total casualties in the capital on Saturday were 22 dead and 72 wounded. Many families have been displaced inside and outside Libya," the government said on its website.

Lebanon

Rebels kill 8 in border raid

Syrian rebels killed eight Lebanese soldiers and claimed Sunday to have captured a dozen security force members in a cross-border raid, the most serious spill-over of violence yet into the tiny country from its neighbor's civil war. The capture, claimed in an online video, raised fears that Lebanon could become further entangled in the Syrian civil war and could worsen already-brewing sectarian tensions.

Iraq

Insurgents seize Kurdish towns

Militants with the Islamic State extremist group on Sunday seized two small towns in northern Iraq after driving out Kurdish security forces, further expanding the territories under their control, officials and residents said. The fresh gains by the Sunni extremist militants have forced dozens of residents to flee from the religiously mixed towns of Zumar and Sinjar, near the militant-held city of Mosul, to the northern self-ruled Kurdish region, they said.

United States

Toxins foul drinking water

Long lines formed at water distribution centers, and store shelves were quickly emptied of bottled water, after Ohio's fourth-largest city told residents not to drink from its water supply that was fouled by toxins, possibly from algae on Lake Erie. The warning effectively cut off the water supply to 400,000 people in Toledo, most of its suburbs and a few areas in southeastern Michigan. Ohio Governor John Kasich said that state agencies were working to bring water and other supplies to areas around Toledo while also assisting affected hospitals and other businesses.

Afghanistan

Election audit gets new start

Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah has agreed to rejoin an audit of the votes, UN officials said on Sunday, after tense negotiations to keep the election on track amid a prolonged dispute over alleged fraud. Earlier on Sunday, the audit had restarted in Kabul with-out Abdullah's observers, who refused to attend due to disagreements over how votes would be judged as fraudulent.

AFP - AP - Xinhua

(China Daily 08/04/2014 page12)