IN BRIEF (Page 12)

France

Ban eased on meat firm

The French company that sparked a Europe-wide food scandal by allegedly passing off 750 metric tons of horsemeat as beef was allowed on Monday to resume production of minced meat, sausages and ready-to-eat meals. But Spanghero will no longer be allowed to stock frozen meat, Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll said.

United Kingdom

Deadly virus adaptable

A new virus that emerged in the Middle East last year and has killed five people is well adapted to infecting humans but could potentially be treated with drugs that boost the immune system, scientists said on Tuesday. The virus is from the same family as the common cold and as SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.

South Africa

Runner charged with murder

Olympian Oscar Pistorius fired into the door of a small bathroom where his girlfriend was cowering after a shouting match on Valentine's Day, hitting her three times, a South African prosecutor said on Tuesday as he charged the sports icon with premeditated murder. The magistrate ruled that Pistorius faces the harshest bail requirements available in South African law.

Egypt

Former PM referred to court

Former Egyptian prime minister and presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq was referred in absentia to Cairo Criminal Court on Tuesday over corruption and money laundering charges, the official MENA News Agency reported. Shafiq, the last prime minister under former president Hosni Mubarak, left Egypt for the United Arab Emirates after losing the presidential race with the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi. Shafiq is accused of illegally wasting public funds and lands of the Cooperative Housing Association for Military Pilots.

AFP-AP-Xinhua

(China Daily 02/20/2013 page12)