News in Brief

Maoist rebels kill 13 police in India
Afp, Raipur

Maoist rebels killed 13 police and wounded another 12 in an ambush in a remote part of central India yesterday, two senior officers said.
The troops were carrying out an operation deep in a forest when the gunmen attacked, the head of Chhattisgarh state's anti-Maoist operations told AFP.
"Thirteen security forces were killed in a gunbattle with Maoists in a deep forest of Sukma region of Chhattisgarh," said Rajinder Kumar Vij.

ISIS jihadists kill 16 border guards in Iraq
Afp, Baghdad

At least 16 Iraqi border guards were killed yesterday in a dawn assault by the Islamic State group on their post near the Syrian border, provincial and security officials said.
“Sixteen border guards, including a captain, were killed and four wounded in an attack targeting their headquarters in Al-Walid, near the Syrian border,"  deputy head of the Anbar provincial council, told AFP.

Palestinian woman shot after stabbing Israeli
Afp, Jerusalem

The Israeli army shot and wounded a Palestinian woman yesterday after she stabbed an Israeli civilian near a Jewish settlement bloc in the southern West Bank. The civilian suffered minor injuries in the stabbing at a major crossroads near the Gush Etzion bloc, south of Bethlehem.
"Security forces on site overpowered the suspect and transferred her for further medical assistance," the statement said.

Family of Thai princess stripped of title
Afp, Bangkok

The family of the wife of Thailand's Crown Prince have been stripped of an honorific title, police confirmed yesterday, after three of her relatives were caught up in a high-profile corruption scandal.
Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn has asked the country's junta to forbid anyone from using the surname "Akkharapongpricha" in a letter widely circulated over the weekend on social media.
Three people with the surname -- an honorific given to relatives of Princess Srirasmi following her marriage to the Crown Prince -- were arrested last week on graft charges as part of a widening investigation into an allegedly corrupt cabal of senior police officers.

China jails Tibetan singer for lyrics
Afp, Beijing

China has sentenced a popular Tibetan singer to four years in prison for calling on Tibetans to unify and speak their language, reports said.
Kalsang Yarphel, 39, was convicted by a court in the southwestern province of Sichuan after taking part in concerts encouraging people to speak and learn Tibetan.