Four US troops killed

KABUL: Four US troops were killed in a mine blast in southeastern Afghan province of Logar on Saturday, the US military said. “Four US troops were killed in action but we have no indication that this was a new mine or an improvised explosive device,” US military spokeswoman said, adding the bodies of the US troops had already been evacuated and an investigation was going on. — AFP

WFP warns Pyongyang

BEIJING: The UN World Food Programme said on Saturday that due to a lack of donations it was going to have to gradually stop supplying rations to 6.5 million North Koreans, and called on Pyongyang to lift restrictions on the distribution of aid. — AFP

Villager shot dead

BANGKOK: One villager was shot dead and two other people were injured in two attacks on Saturday mounted by suspected Islamic separatists in Thailand’s southernmost provinces, police said. Khunthong Tasue, 40, a Buddhist worker doing odd jobs in Rangae district of Narathiwat province, was shot dead. His friend Choo was also shot and injured by the gunmen. — AFP

Sex slave ruling flayed

BEIJING: China has criticised a Japanese court ruling throwing out a lawsuit by two Chinese women who say they were forced to serve as sex slaves for Japan’s army during World War II. Beijing is “strongly dissatisfied” with the decision, which ruled China waived its right to seek damages in a 1952 peace treaty, a foreign ministry spokesman said. The treaty was

“illegal and invalid” as it was signed not by Beijing but by Taiwan. — AP

RSF call to free journo

BEIJING: Chinese journalist Zheng Yichun has been accused of “subverting state power” after publication of articles and essays in foreign journals and Internet, Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) said on Saturday. The journalist has been detained since December 20, RSF said calling for his release. — AFP