China wants apology from French reporter

BEIJING • China has confirmed the imminent expulsion of a French journalist for "flagrantly championing" terrorist acts, according to the Foreign Ministry's website yesterday. Ms Ursula Gauthier, a Beijing-based correspondent for French news magazine L'Obs, must issue a public apology for an article she wrote on the troubled region of Xinjiang last month or the ministry will not renew her press visa.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Rebel group kills 9 in Mindanao

MANILA • A breakaway Muslim rebel group killed nine civilians in the southern Philippines in a series of attacks on Dec 24, officials said yesterday.

Army troops killed four members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters after they attacked a farming town on the island of Mindanao.

REUTERS