Asia Briefs: Mindanao air strikes: Thousands flee

Mindanao air strikes: Thousands flee

MANILA • More than 24,000 people have fled their homes as the Philippine military used air strikes and artillery against Muslim extremists who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Almost a week of attacks on the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in the strife-torn southern island of Mindanao has displaced residents of six towns, said the authorities yesterday.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


China's moon mission training

SHANGHAI • China is testing the ability for future astronauts to stay on the moon for extended periods, as Beijing accelerates its space programme and looks to put people on the surface of the moon within the next two decades.

Xinhua news agency said volunteers would live in a "simulated space cabin" for 60 to 200 days over the next year. President Xi Jinping has called for China to become a global power in space exploration, with plans to send a probe to the dark side of the moon by next year, the first ever such trip.

REUTERS


Bangkok hunts for bombing suspects

BANGKOK • The Thai authorities are hunting for at least 10 suspected Muslim insurgents over a car bombing on Tuesday that injured 60 people, including children, in the troubled far south of the predominantly Buddhist country.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 12, 2017, with the headline Asia Briefs: Mindanao air strikes: Thousands flee. Subscribe