IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Afghanistan

Taliban kill 3 in family

The latest Taliban strike in Kabul killed a South African father and his two children, Afghan officials said on Sunday. The city's chief of police resigned after a flurry of attacks by militants - nine over a two-week period. General Zahir Zahir stepped down shortly after he confirmed that three South Africans died in a Taliban attack on a foreign compound on Saturday evening.

Sri Lanka

Opposition plots election strategy

Sri Lanka's opposition parties formally launched their bid on Sunday to topple long-serving President Mahinda Rajapakse in January's elections. There were prayers and public meetings in the island's old capital of Polonnaruwa. The main opposition presidential candidate, Maithripala Sirisena, 63, quit as health minister in Rajapakse's government last week.

Moldova

Vote to decide nation's future

Moldovans began voting in an election in which they will decide between differing party approaches. Some want to move closer to Europe; others want to move back into Russia's orbit. Sunday's parliamentary election takes on wider significance with the unrest in neighboring Ukraine. Moldova, like Ukraine, has a pro-Russia separatist region in its east.

Syria

Airstrikes hit IS extremists

A US-led coalition carried out at least 30 airstrikes in Syria against Islamic State extremists in the northern province of Raqqa on Saturday, a monitoring group said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrikes hit IS positions in the northern outskirts of Raqqa, a major stronghold of the hard-line Islamic militants.

Thailand

Prince strips wife's surname

Thailand's Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn has ordered the government to strip his wife's family of their royally issued surname. The move came after at least three relatives of his wife, Princess Srirasm, were arrested last week as part of a corruption probe. In a letter dated Friday but released over the weekend, the crown prince ordered the "cancellation of the royally bestowed family name Akrapongpreecha".

Netherlands

Fourth bird flu case discovered

Dutch officials said on Sunday that bird flu had been found at another poultry farm in the Netherlands, the fourth in recent weeks. The Economics Ministry said the farm's 28,000 birds were being destroyed. The flu infection was of the same H5 variety found at farms across Europe and Asia in recent months. It was not yet clear how infectious the strain was.

AFP - AP - Reuters

(China Daily 12/01/2014 page11)