IN BRIEF

Manila, communists agree to new talks

MANILA: Maoist guerrillas waging a decades-long insurgency in the Philippines have resumed high-level peace talks with the government after a 13-month impasse, it was announced yesterday.

Meeting in the Netherlands capital The Hague on Monday and Tuesday the two sides also agreed to a 26-day nationwide ceasefire from December 20, according to a statement issued by Norway, which has been mediating the talks.

Thai official charged over export of tigers

BANGKOK: A Thai deputy prime minister was charged yesterday in connection with the export to China of 100 tigers, an endangered species protected by international law, the attorney general's office told AFP. Plodprasop Suraswadi approved the export of tigers from Sriracha Tiger Zoo - a popular tourist attraction a few hours from Bangkok - to a Chinese breeding firm in 2002. He was the head of the forestry department at the time.

M'sia eases Christians' travel to Israel

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has removed quotas and other restrictions on Christians from the Muslim majority nation making their pilgrimage to Jerusalem, government and church officials said. The move comes after a string of clashes in recent years between the government and the Christian minority and ahead of national polls which must be held by the middle of next year.

K Rouge court hit by fresh resignations

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's Khmer Rouge war crimes court suffered a new setback yesterday with the resignation of three international lawyers who have complained of political interference. It is the latest in a string of departures from the UN-backed tribunal, which has long been dogged by allegations of government meddling and has completed just one case.

Fears for 'detained' Laos activist

BANGKOK: A prominent activist has gone missing in Laos after his vehicle was stopped by police, his wife said yesterday, as the United States and rights groups voiced concern for his welfare. CCTV footage revealed that Sombath Somphone, a 62-year-old campaigner for sustainable development, was taken into a police post on Saturday in Vientiane, according to his wife Shui Meng Ng. He was then driven away in another vehicle with two unidentified people, she said.Agencies