JERUSALEM (AFP) — The UN special envoy to the Middle East on Saturday expressed alarm at Israel’s resumption of Palestinian house demolition in the occupied West Bank, warning it undermined peace efforts.
Robert Serry “is alarmed by the recent resumption of house demolitions in the West Bank after a freeze dating back to April this year,” his office said.

MANILA (AFP) — Fighting with Muslim rebels on the Philippine island of Mindanao is unlikely to escalate into full-scale war but foreign Islamic militants could stage attacks in retaliation, the International Crisis Group said Thursday.
While returning to the peace table remains an option for the government and the 12,000-member Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which has been waging a decades-long rebellion, any final agreement remains a long way off, the ICG said in a policy briefing paper.