Nuke power firm tests safety drill

South Korea: The country’s monopoly nuclear power company began drills yesterday against cyber-attacks following online threats against its plants.

State-owned Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power said the two-day drills were meant to prepare workers in the event of hacking attacks aimed at disabling the plants’ control systems.

The company and the Energy Ministry insisted that systems were safe from hacking and they were only holding the exercises to ensure public safety.

Authorities break up fascist plot

Italy: Authorities said yesterday that they had cracked a neofascist plot to attack immigrants and political targets, including magistrates.

General Mario Parente, who is heading an anti-terrorism group, said yesterday that the plotters had begun stockpiling arms, which prompted forces monitoring their activities for the last 18 months to move in. Police executed 14 arrest warrants in central and northern Italy.

Some attacks had been planned for the Christmas holiday.

Ethnic violence kills at least 20

Central African Republic: At least 20 people have been killed and dozens injured in new inter-ethnic clashes, police said yesterday.

The violence broke out on Friday when mainly Christian anti-balaka militias launched an attack against an alliance of rebels of the largely Muslim former Seleka alliance and Peul herders in the central region of Bambari.

“At least 12 people were killed in that attack,” a spokesman said.

Man arrested after failed attack on IDF

Palestine: The Israeli military arrested a Palestinian man yesterday after a foiled attack on a soldier in the West Bank.

The Israelis claim other soldiers intervened to stop the unidentified Palestinian from stabbing his intended victim in Tulkarem.

Over the last two months, 11 Israelis have been killed in five separate Palestinian attacks. Five of the Palestinian assailants were killed by security forces.

Boys go from the wild to hospital

Australia: A five-year-old boy and his seven-year-old brother were recovering in hospital yesterday after surviving with their father for 10 days in the wilderness with little food.

Dad Steven Van Lonkhuyzen took a wrong turn during a family road trip and then got his four-wheel-drive vehicle bogged in mud.

The family was rescued on Sunday after farmer Tom Wagner found them in the remote Expedition National Park.

“They were pretty hungry by the time I got to them,” Mr Wagner said.

Five Isis allies killed in al-Sharqiya

Egypt: Security forces killed five militants from an Islamic State-allied group during a raid in the Sinai, the Interior Ministry said yesterday.

The ministry said Sunday’s raid targeted a farm in al-Sharqiya province where some members of Ansar Beit al-Maqdis — Champions of Jerusalem — were hiding.

It described those killed in the shoot-out as “most dangerous” jihadis, two of whom were wanted for participating in terrorist attacks.

Beijing deploys to South Sudan

China: Beijing said yesterday that it will send 700 troops to South Sudan as part of the country’s first infantry battalion to participate in a United Nations peacekeeping mission.

A 180-strong contingent will fly to South Sudan next month followed by the rest of the battalion in March.