IN BRIEF (Page 11)

India

Japan advised to accept criticism

Salman Khurshid, Indian Minister of External Affairs, on Tuesday told Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of the New Komeito Party in Japan's ruling coalition, that it is best for Japan to learn from history and move on, and Japan should humbly accept the criticism of the shrine visit by China and South Korea. Commenting on this, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's position on historical issues has seriously hurt the feelings of the countries victimized during World War II.

Thailand

Officers prepare for 'shutdown'

Nearly 15,000 police and soldiers will be deployed in the Thai capital next week for the planned "shutdown" of Bangkok by demonstrators trying to overthrow the government, officials said on Wednesday. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has called February elections, but the demonstrators have vowed to block the vote, which they fear will only prolong the political dominance of her rich family.

Japan

Massive search for rape suspect

A massive manhunt was underway in Japan on Wednesday with 4,000 police officers, 850 vehicles, sniffer dogs, helicopters and boats scouring a port city for an escaped rape suspect, reports said. Yuta Sugimoto, 20, was being questioned over claims he was part of a gang that raped and robbed a woman on the streets of Kawasaki, just south of Tokyo, on Jan 2. He slipped away from his guard during a visit to prosecutors in an office building on Tuesday.

Egypt

Morsi trial once again adjourned

An Egyptian court on Wednesday adjourned the murder trial of deposed president Mohammed Morsi to Feb 1, citing "weather conditions" that prevented the Islamist's transport to court from his prison. It had been scheduled as the second hearing in Morsi's trial, after an initial court appearance in November in which he denounced the tribunal and insisted he was still the country's president. Morsi is accused of inciting the killings of opposition protesters in December 2012.

Syria

Rebels capture jihadist HQ

Fighters from several Syrian rebel brigades have seized the headquarters of the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the city of Aleppo, an NGO said on Wednesday. "Fighters from several Islamist rebel brigades took control of the children's hospital in the Qadi Askar district, which is the headquarters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the city," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The observatory said it was unclear what happened to "hundreds" of ISIL fighters who had been inside the headquarters.

AFP-Reuters-China Daily

(China Daily 01/09/2014 page11)