IN BRIEF (Page 11)

United States

Snowden says his work is done

Just six months after first leaking US National Security Agency secrets in a move that triggered a revaluation of the country's surveillance policies, Edward Snowden is declaring "mission's already accomplished". Snowden told The Washington Post in his first in-person interview since his June arrival in Russia, that he was satisfied because the public is now informed about the US government's massive sweep of Internet and phone records.

United Kingdom

World War II hero pardoned

Britain on Tuesday granted a posthumous pardon to Alan Turing, the World War II code-breaking hero who committed suicide after he was convicted of the then crime of homosexuality. Turing is often hailed as a father of modern computing and he played a pivotal role in breaking Germany's "Enigma" code, an effort that some historians say brought an early end to World War II.

Nicaragua

Drug traffickers repatriated

Eighteen Mexicans convicted on drug-trafficking charges after posing as television journalists while entering Nicaragua with $9.2 million were repatriated on Monday. Nicaraguan police transported the defendants, including a Mexican policeman, to Managua's International Airport, where authorities turned them over to Mexican prosecutors and prison officials.

Iran

Parliament mulls change of capital

Iran's parliament is considering a proposal to choose another city as the national capital and move the seat of the government from Teheran. Official news agency IRNA said on Tuesday that if lawmakers accept the proposal, a council would be set up and spend the next two years studying the best location.

Nigeria

70 rebels killed in battle at border

Nigeria's military said on Tuesday it had killed 50 Islamist rebels as they tried to cross the border into Cameroon, engaging them in a battle on Monday in which 15 of their own troops and five civilians also died. Nigerian forces have stepped up a military offensive in the volatile northeast in the past few days, after their barracks in Bama came under attack from Boko Haram fighters on Friday.

Nepal

Maoists agree to join assembly

Nepal's Maoists have agreed to join the country's constituent assembly, ending a weeks-long impasse after they initially rejected the result of last month's elections, a senior party leader said on Tuesday. "We have agreed to join the assembly and help draft a Constitution" after other parties agreed to investigate alleged poll-rigging, said senior Maoist official Narayan Kaji Shrestha.

Xinhua-AFP-AP-Reuters

(China Daily 12/25/2013 page11)