IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Iran

Teheran rejects nuclear demand

Iran on Sunday rejected the West's demand to send sensitive nuclear material out of the country but signaled flexibility on other aspects of its atomic activities, ahead of renewed negotiations this week. Talks about Iran's nuclear program, due to start in Geneva on Tuesday, will be the first since the election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who has tried to improve relations with the West to pave a way for lifting economic sanctions.

Syria

Opposition shuns Geneva talks

A key group within the Syrian opposition National Coalition said on Sunday it would not attend proposed peace talks in Geneva and would quit the coalition if it participated. "The Syrian National Council, which is the biggest bloc in the coalition, has taken the firm decision ... not to go to Geneva, under the present circumstances," said the council's president, George Sabra. "This means that we will not stay in the coalition if it goes", he added. He said his group would not negotiate before the fall of the government.

Philippines

Hostage crisis 'not set aside'

Philippine deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte on Sunday reassured families of the victims of the Quirino hostage crisis of 2010 that resulted in the death of eight Hong Kong tourists that their plight is not being set aside, and efforts to find a solution are being made. Valte said President Benigno Aquino has already instructed the justice secretary to provide the families of the victims with a briefing on the status of the case and how the legal process works in Manila.

Iraq

Kurds ready to strike militants

Iraqi Kurdistan is prepared to strike militants anywhere, including neighboring Syria, but the Kurds must avoid being drawn into that country's civil war, the autonomous region's president, Massud Barzani, told AFP. "We will not hesitate in directing strikes (against) the terrorist criminals in any place," Barzani said.

Sunday attacks kill at least 8

Police officials said attacks across Iraq have killed at least eight people. They said the deadliest of Sunday's attacks was in the southern city of Diwaniyah, where back-to-back car bombings near a bus station killed three people and wounded 13. In the northern city of Samarra, a bomb targeted a gathering of mourners for some of the 17 people who were killed in a car bombing there on Saturday.

Reuters-AFP-Xinhua-AP

(China Daily 10/14/2013 page12)