IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Russia

Court to review convictions

Russia's Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will review two convictions against former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, including a ruling the Kremlin critic said was preventing him from returning to Russia despite a presidential pardon. After more than a decade in jail, he was unexpectedly pardoned and set free on Friday.

United States

Ice storm linked to 27 deaths

Utility crews from Maine to Michigan and into Canada worked to restore power to more than half a million homes that were left in the dark by last weekend's ice storm. In the United States, the death toll from the storm reached at least 17 on Christmas Day. In Canada, 10 people were reported dead.

Central African Republic

Peacekeepers from Chad killed

Five peacekeepers from Chad have been killed in clashes in the Central African Republic. The Chadian contingent of the African Union peacekeeping force has been accused of siding with a mostly Muslim former rebel group in the country.

Philippines

Govt vows to stop drug cartel

The Philippine government pledged on Thursday that it will roll out all the necessary measures to neutralize the Sinaloa drug cartel from Mexico. The move was made after suspects were arrested in a laboratory that manufactures methamphetamine hydrochloride, which has links to the Mexican drug cartel.

Libya

Gunmen block central bank

Dozens of Libyan militiamen blocked the entrance to the central bank and port of Tripoli on Thursday, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. Libya is in turmoil with Zeidan's government struggling to assert control of the North African country awash with arms from the 2011 uprising that ousted Muammar Gadhafi.

AFP-AP-Xinhua

(China Daily 12/27/2013 page11)