IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Republic of Korea

Plans scrapped for border tree

A church group in the Republic of Korea has canceled plans to erect a 9-meter Christmas tree near the border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea after locals complained that it could provoke Pyongyang. The Seoul-based Christian Council of Korea wanted to replace a 43-year-old front-line Christmas-tree-shaped tower that was dismantled in October because of structural safety concerns. The tower, which was about 3 km from the border, stoked tensions because Pyongyang saw it as propaganda warfare.

Nigeria

54 soldiers get death sentences

Nigeria has sentenced 54 soldiers to death by firing squad for mutiny while they were fighting insurgents in the northeast, their lawyer said on Thursday. Another five were acquitted and discharged in the secret trial, lawyer Femi Falana said. They were the first batch of 97 soldiers to be court-martialed for offenses that included mutiny, assault, absconding and disorderly behavior.

Portugal

Rail service hit as staff strikes

Portugal was hit with massive rail disruptions on Thursday as more than two-thirds of train services were canceled due to a 24-hour strike over reform of the transport sector. The main transport union called the walkout to protest a plan to merge Refer, which manages the rail network, and Estradas de Portugal, which manages the road infrastructure.

Iraq

Kurds launch attack on IS

Kurdish forces backed by foreign jets pressed an ambitious operation against the Islamic State group in northern Iraq on Thursday, taking on the extremists in the heart of their "caliphate". After mass bombings by aircraft of the US-led coalition paved the way for ground troops on Wednesday, Iraq's Kurdish peshmerga retook several villages and closed in on the Sinjar area.

Iran

Military drill set in Persian Gulf

Iran's state TV said the military will hold a massive drill near the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf next week. The report on Thursday said the weeklong exercise will be carried out over 2.2 million square kilometers, including the eastern part of the passage, through which one-fifth of the world's oil supply passes. It said the drill will begin on Dec 25 and include the Iranian navy, air force, ground units and the elite Revolutionary Guard, with the troops test-firing new weapons.

AP - Reuters - AFP

(China Daily 12/19/2014 page11)