IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Germany

Merkel suffers pelvic injury

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has fractured her pelvis in a cross-country skiing accident and is walking with the help of crutches, forcing her to call off some foreign visits and official appointments, her spokesman said on Monday. Merkel fell while skiing during the Christmas vacation. What she first thought was heavy bruising turned out to be a partial fracture, meaning she must take it easy for three weeks and work from home as much as possible, spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

Israel

Sharon condition in steady decline

The condition of Israeli former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma since a 2006 stroke, continues to deteriorate, a hospital official said on Monday. In his daily update since Sharon took a turn for the worse last week, Zeev Rotstein, director of the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv, said the 85-year-old's cardiovascular system was stable but the function of his other organs was slowly deteriorating.

Afghanistan

Govt to free 88 Bagram inmates

Afghanistan will release 88 prisoners as planned even though the United States considers them dangerous and wants them to remain in detention, the board reviewing their cases told Reuters. The prisoners are being held at a prison at the Bagram air base north of Kabul. The US only recently transferred the prison to Afghan control after it had become a serious source of tension with the Afghan government.

Czech Republic

Arms found in foreign mission

Czech police found 12 weapons, including pistols and sub-machine guns, at the Palestinian mission in Prague after an explosion killed the ambassador at his residence last week, the police chief was quoted as saying on Sunday. Police said the explosion that killed Ambassador Jamal al-Jamal after he opened a safe might have been caused by mishandling a device meant to secure it.

Turkey

Erdogan won't oppose retrial

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said he would not oppose the retrial of hundreds of military officers convicted on coup plot charges, a case that underlined civilian dominance over a once all-powerful army. In October, Turkey's appeals court upheld the convictions of top retired officers for leading a plot to overthrow Erdogan's government a decade ago. The military filed a criminal complaint last week over the court cases, saying evidence against serving and retired officers had been fabricated.

Reuters - Xinhua - AP

(China Daily 01/07/2014 page12)