Attack on army base in Philippines kills three

INDANAN (Philippines) • An attack on a special Philippine army counter-terrorism unit yesterday left three soldiers dead and nine others wounded in the southern Philippines, military spokesmen and witnesses said.

The authorities said they were not ruling out the involvement of Abu Sayyaf militants in the attack on Jolo island, a stronghold of the rebel group linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

MyHSR appoints firms to review costs

KUALA LUMPUR • The Malaysian company in charge of developing the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail yesterday appointed Minconsult and Ernst & Young as technical advisory consultant and commercial advisory consultant, respectively.

MyHSR said they will review proposed changes to the project and further identify cost reduction options for Malaysia. The 350km HSR project was suspended last September, with construction shelved until the end of May.

Congo mine landslide death toll rises to 43

KINSHASA • The number of artisanal miners killed by a landslide at a copper and cobalt mine run by Glencore in Congo rose to 43 yesterday.

Thursday's accident occurred in the KOV open-pit mine at the Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) concession near the Democratic Republic of Congo's border with Zambia.

Officials said the miners caught up in the landslide at the KCC facility were on the site illegally.

REUTERS