Philippines

Benigno Aquino can keep gun

Philippine President Benigno Aquino may continue to carry a gun despite an impending ban on bearing firearms in the run-up to polls, an election official said on Saturday. Gun ownership is a sensitive topic in the Philippines, where calls are growing for tighter controls or an outright ban in the aftermath of a series of shootings starting on New Year's Eve that have left 23 people dead.

Somalia

Rebels foil hostage rescue

French commandos launched an attack overnight in an apparent bid to free a French hostage in southern Somalia, leaving several dead, an Islamist commander and residents said on Saturday. "Mujahedeen fighters defeated the so-called commandos of the French government who tried to rescue a hostage, and they (the commandos) left the bodies of several of their own at the site of the attack," said Sheikh Mohamed Abdallah, a local Shebab military commander. There was no immediate response from France.

News watch

Safety probe of 787s begins

The US government ordered a wide-ranging review of Boeing's latest passenger jet, the 787 Dreamliner, citing concern over a fire and other recent problems but transportation officials insisted that the plane was still safe to fly. Boeing shares fell 3 percent on Friday. The 787 represents a leap in the way planes are designed and built, but the project has been plagued by cost overruns and years of delays.

Reuters - Xinhua - Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 01/13/2013 page2)