The world in brief

The World in Brief

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea launched two ballistic missiles into the sea on Sunday, South Korea said, the latest in a series of test-firings seen as expressions of anger over the North's failure to win talks on receiving outside aid and U.S.-South Korean military drills.

The missiles, believed to be of Scud variations, were fired from the North Korean city of Kaesong near the border with the South and had a range of about 311 miles, said a South Korean military official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

North Korea experts said it was highly unusual for Pyongyang to fire missiles from a city just 12 miles from the heavily fortified border separating the two Koreas. The North usually test-fires missiles from its eastern port city of Wonsan, about 80 miles from the border.

North Korea regularly conducts test-firings, but this year has seen an unusually large number of launches. South Korean officials have confirmed about 90 test-firings of missiles, artillery and rockets by the North since Feb. 21. More than 10 of them have been ballistic launches.

At least 6 killed in battle for Libya airport

CAIRO -- At least six people were killed and 25 injured Sunday when rival militias battled for the control of the international airport in Libya's capital, Tripoli, according to the country's Health Ministry. Civil aviation authorities announced the airport will be closed for three days because of security concerns.

Gunfire from the battles echoed through Tripoli as fierce fighting raged between Libyan forces and allied militias and a powerful militia from the western city of Zintan that controls the airport, said a member of a revolutionary battalion attached to Libya's army chief of staff.

Those living in the vicinity said troops surrounded the airfield and fired rockets at buildings.

Authorities said Saturday that the airport was to have been handed over to government control.

The powerful Zintan militia had taken control of the airport, providing security for the strategic installation, after the fall of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

Afghan officials praise audit of election

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Amid relief that a rift in the country's democracy has been averted, Afghan officials praised a deal between presidential contenders brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and said Sunday that they hope to finish a full ballot audit within weeks.

Kerry unveiled the deal Saturday night, with both hopefuls -- former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai -- promising to abide by the results of the audit, followed by plans for the winner to form a government of national unity with participation of the losing side.

With many Afghans saying the deal exceeded their expectations from Kerry's two-day mediation, the chairman of the country's Independent Election Commission told reporters at a news conference that the commission will be ready to start auditing all 8 million votes cast from 23,000 polling station within a few days and hopes to complete the process in three weeks.

Money dealers said that the value of the Afghan currency improved after the deal, and Afghan citizens in the capital and political leaders were univocal in their praise -- although some cautioned that the deal must still be implemented and the way ahead is still difficult.

India villagers decry killing of 4 Muslims

GAUHATI, India -- Police on Sunday fired rubber bullets and used batons to disperse hundreds of villagers protesting the abductions and killings of four Muslim traders in India's remote northeast.

The protesters defied a curfew and beat up one police officer in Baksa district in Assam state, said Magistrate Vinod Seshan.

The traders were abducted Friday and their bodies recovered Sunday. No one has claimed responsibility for the killings.

The villagers later retreated into their homes as army and paramilitary soldiers intensified patrols.

The region was rocked by violence in May, when 45 people were killed after gunmen from the Bodo tribe set Muslim homes ablaze and fired at civilians.

The Bodos accuse Muslims of entering India illegally from neighboring Bangladesh.

A faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, which has fought for a separate homeland for the ethnic Bodo people for decades, denied police allegations that it had kidnapped the four traders.

In a statement, the group said the abductions were the outcome of local disputes in the Bodo heartland.

The National Democratic Front of Bodoland has split into three groups. Two of them are holding talks with the government for a peaceful settlement of their demand, while one faction is still fighting in the region.

African ex-president to head rebel group

BANGUI, Central African Republic -- A spokesman said Central African Republic's former president has been reinstated as head of a rebel movement known for human-rights abuses.

Ahmat Mahamat Nedjad said Sunday that Michel Djotodia was re-elected as head of the mostly Muslim movement previously known as Seleka during a meeting in the northern town of Birao.

Djotodia became president last year after Seleka toppled the government.

He resigned in January amid international pressure. Though he fled to Benin, analysts believe he has stayed in contact with rebel commanders.

Christian militias have since sought revenge for Seleka abuses. The sectarian violence has left thousands dead.

In addition to appointing a political wing of more than 30 members, Nedjad said the rebels adopted a new name: The Popular Front for the Rebirth of Central African Republic.

-- COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

A Section on 07/14/2014

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