IN BRIEF (Page 8)

India

People flee as cyclone nears

India's east coast braced on Friday for a cyclone that has the potential to cover half the country, with tens of thousands of residents in low-lying areas fleeing their homes. Satellite images showed Cyclone Phailin was 600 kilometers off the coast and likely to make landfall on Saturday.

United States

Country to be top oil producer

The United States will overtake Russia to become the world's largest oil producer next year thanks to its shale oil boom that has remade the global energy landscape, said the International Energy Agency said on Friday. The prediction comes after the US government estimated that growth in production has allowed the country to reduce imports.

Thailand

Roadside bomb blast wounds 2

Two volunteer paramilitary rangers were wounded in a roadside bomb attack in the southern province of Narathiwat on Friday. Police said the bomb exploded when a team of nine paramilitary rangers was on patrol in the morning.

AFP-AP-Xinhua

(China Daily 10/12/2013 page8)