IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Egypt

Mubarak trial postponed

The judge trying Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak for the killing of protesters wrapped up Monday's session and said the court would reconvene on Sept 5 to begin hearing evidence in the case.

Judge Ahmed Refaat ordered that the trial be merged with that of former interior minister Habib el-Adli and said TV coverage of the trial would end until sentencing takes place.

Syria

Tanks fire on residential area

Syrian forces shelled a residential district in Latakia on Monday, residents said, the third day of an assault on Sunni neighborhoods of the port city, which have seen protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.

The Syrian Revolution Coordinating Union, a grassroots activists' group, said a 22-year-old man was killed in the shelling by tanks on Monday, bringing the total dead in the three-day sea and land assault on Latakia to at least 32 civilians.

United States

Obama bus tour hits campaign trail

President Barack Obama heads out on Monday on a bus tour of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois in the US Midwest, aiming to leave behind doubts about his leadership that could dent his 2012 re-election prospects.

The three-day trip takes him to three states vital to retaining the White House in the November 2012 election, but could expose Obama to voters who, polls suggest, are furious about political gridlock back in Washington. Obama won all three states in the 2008 presidential election.

The White House says Obama is on a listening tour to hear from Americans about the economy and to talk about how to boost jobs and hiring.

Libya

Gadhafi speaks on state television

Libyan state television early on Monday broadcast what it said was a live speech by Muammar Gadhafi calling on the Libyan people to arm themselves to liberate the country from "traitors and from NATO".

The speech, which was broadcast in audio only with no images, was the first time Gadhafi had spoken in public since rebel fighters launched their biggest offensive in months in the area around Tripoli.

Iran

Verdict expected on spy suspects

Iran's prosecutor general said on Monday that the verdict in the case of three Americans arrested two years ago on espionage charges would be issued "soon", Mehr news agency reported.

"The final verdict will be issued soon," Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie said.

When asked whether there was a possibility of pardoning the three during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, which ends late August, he said he had "not heard such a rumor".

AFP-Reuters

(China Daily 08/16/2011 page12)