In brief: Rebels take 30 hostages in Mali

BAMAKO, Mali – Separatist Tuareg rebels launched an assault on the northern Mali city of Kidal over the weekend, killing eight soldiers, storming government buildings and taking 30 hostages in a “declaration of war” on the government, officials said Sunday.

The attack was apparently prompted by a visit to Kidal on Saturday by newly appointed Prime Minister Moussa Mara.

The country’s U.N. mission said in a statement Sunday that six local government officials and two civilians had also been killed, although the circumstances of their deaths were unclear.

The violence began Saturday morning when the rebels launched a heavy assault on the governor’s office, where officials had gathered to meet Mara, according to a government statement. Mara stayed in the army barracks and then left Kidal on Sunday for another northern center, Gao.

Fighting continued throughout the day, killing eight soldiers and injuring 25, according to a separate Defense Ministry statement. The statement said 28 assailants were also killed along with 62 wounded.

The Defense Ministry said Malian soldiers had regained control of all administrative buildings in Kidal except the governor’s office. It was unclear where the hostages were being held.

Chinese to evacuate port

HANOI, Vietnam – A port official said two Chinese passenger ships have arrived at a central Vietnamese port to evacuate Chinese nationals following deadly rioting last week.

The official said the boats with a capacity of 1,000 passengers each arrived at Vung Ang early today.

Vung Ang port is part of a massive Taiwanese steel mill complex that was overrun by an anti-China mob last week.

Two Chinese workers were killed and 140 injured, just one incident in a wave of national unrest triggered by the deployment of a Chinese oil rig in a disputed section of the South China Sea.

Syrian general killed in clash

DAMASCUS, Syria – The head of Syria’s air defenses was killed in clashes near the capital, Damascus, a government official and activists said Sunday, one of a few high-ranking military officers to be killed in the country’s 3-year-old civil war.

Lt. Gen. Hussein Ishaq’s death may boost morale for those fighting against President Bashar Assad’s government, as they’ve faced a series of setbacks and surrendered territory over the last year.

Ishaq was one of the highest-ranking members of Syria’s army, said military analyst Hisham Jaber, a retired brigadier general in the Lebanese military.

He died Saturday after rebels attacked a Syrian air defense base near the town of Mleiha, said the government official.

3 charged in mine disaster

ISTANBUL – Three people were arrested on charges of negligence in the Turkish mining disaster that killed 301 people, a prosecutor said Sunday. The suspects are among 19 people still in custody.

Prosecutor Bekir Sahiner said the three were also accused of the crime of causing the death of more than one person, a charge that doesn’t imply intent. In a news conference in Soma, where the disaster took place, he said one of those arrested was the company’s operations manager.