IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Japan

39 confirmed dead in landslide

Thirty-nine people were confirmed dead while the number of the missing rose to 26 as search and rescue operations continued on Thursday in Hiroshima Prefecture in western Japan. The efforts follows Wednesday's massive landslides, triggered by torrential rains, local press reported. People who went missing jumped from the previous day's seven to Thursday's 26 as 2,700 police, firefighters and Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force personnel joined the rescue operations.

Indonesia

Police fire tear gas at protesters

Supporters of losing Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto clashed with police on Thursday as the country's top judges began reading a verdict on his petition to overturn the election results. Subianto, a former general with close links to the country's former dictator Suharto, has alleged massive fraud in the July 9 polls and filed a complaint at the Constitutional Court, the country's highest.

Ukraine

Russian army vehicles seized

Ukraine said on Thursday it had captured two armored vehicles belonging to the Russian military as it pushed on with its offensive to break the back of the rebellion in the war-torn east. Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said the two vehicles from Moscow's Pskov Airbourne division were seized along with documents of Russian soldiers who had fled following a battle close to the second-largest rebel stronghold of Lugansk.

Ireland

Former leader Reynolds dies

Albert Reynolds, the straight-talking Irish prime minister who played a key role in delivering peace to Northern Ireland, has died after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 81. His eldest son, Philip, said he died early on Thursday at his Dublin home. Reynolds, a renowned deal-maker who made millions running rural dance halls and a pet food company, led two feud-prone coalition governments from 1992 to 1994.

India

Activist still on hunger strike

India's most famous prisoner of conscience has walked free after nearly 14 years in jail but vowed to continue the hunger strike that landed her in prison for attempted suicide, her brother said on Thursday. Irom Sharmila, 42, has not eaten voluntarily since November 2000, when she began her protest against an Indian law that suspends many human rights protections in areas of conflict. She was arrested three days later on charges of attempting suicide a crime in India. Prison officials have force fed her through a tube in her nose.

Xinhua - AP - AFP

(China Daily 08/22/2014 page11)