IN BRIEF (Page 12)

India

Army to intensify operations

The Indian Army on Friday said that it would intensify its operations against Bodo militants, who killed over 80 people in the northeastern state of Assam on Tuesday. "We had a review meeting and will soon intensify our operations in Assam," Indian Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag told the media, after meeting Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the national capital. On Tuesday evening, Bodo militants, who are opposed to peace talks with the Indian government, killed over 80 people within an hour.

Libya

22 killed in speedboat attack

Islamists killed at least 22 soldiers on Thursday after a surprise attack in which they used speedboats in a failed bid to seize some of Libya's main oil terminals, officials said. The fighting in the oil-rich region came as pro-government forces lost ground to Islamist militias in the eastern city of Benghazi, where jihadists beheaded six people and killed 14 others, military officials said. The militiamen belonging to the Fajr Libya, or Libya Dawn, launched the attack on Al-Sidra port by firing rockets from speedboats, setting an oil tank on fire, security sources said.

The Philippines

Peace talks with rebels to restart

The Philippine government and rebels said on Friday that formal negotiations to end a lengthy insurgency could restart shortly, though the rebels' armed wing announced it was beefing up its guerilla campaign. Peace talks regarding one of the world's longest-running insurgencies, which have been on-and-off since the 1980s, may resume as early as the second half of January. In a goodwill gesture amid a Christmas cease-fire, the rebels on Friday released two soldiers held captive for four months.

Middle East

Knifeman wounds 2 Israeli police

A knife-wielding Palestinian wounded two Israeli police officers on Friday in Jerusalem's Old City, the scene of months of tensions, authorities said. One officer was wounded in the neck and the other in the hand, according to a police spokeswoman who described their injuries as light. Police launched a major search in the Old City and surrounding areas for the attacker, who fled, she said.

Thailand

Floods in south region claim 13

Floods in southern Thailand have killed 13 people and injured five others since Dec 14, the director general of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said on Friday. Eight provinces had been hit hard by heavy rain-triggered floods, including Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phattalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Trang, Chatchai Promlert was quoted by the Nation newspaper as saying. In Yala alone, more than 50,000 residents have been affected by flooding, with three people reportedly drowned and two others injured. Thousands have been evacuated.

Xinhua - AFP - AP

(China Daily 12/27/2014 page12)