IN BRIEF (Page 11)

India

No polio cases for three years

India on Monday marked three years since its last polio case was reported, a major milestone in eradicating the crippling disease. The marker puts the country on course to being officially declared polio-free in March. The World Health Organization stills need to confirm there are no undetected cases before making the official declaration. Polio is a vaccine-preventable disease that has been eradicated in most countries.

France

Alleged affair turns messy

French President Francois Hollande's political and personal woes deepened on Sunday after it emerged that his girlfriend had been rushed to a hospital following a report he has been having an affair with an actress. Valerie Trierweiler, who lives with the president in the Elysee Palace, his official residence, was admitted to a hospital on Friday "for a rest and to undergo some tests", aides said, adding that they expected her to leave the clinic on Monday.

Japan

Weapons aimed at rice crops

The US army tested biological weapons on the Japanese island of Okinawa in the early 1960s that were designed to harm rice crops, a report claimed on Sunday. The same experiments were conducted on the US mainland and in Taiwan, Kyodo news agency said, citing US military documents. The US is "believed to have had China and Southeast Asia in mind in developing such crop-harming agents", the report said.

Cambodia

Court suspends extradition

A Cambodian court on Monday suspended a request for the extradition of a Russian property developer wanted in his homeland for allegedly embezzling millions of dollars. The ruling on Sergei Polonsky's fate in a closed-door hearing also saw the 41-year-old businessman released after being detained in Cambodia two months ago following a request by Moscow. It was not immediately clear whether Polonsky could still face extradition at a later date, and court officials were not available for comment.

United Kingdom

London confirms debt pledge

The British government confirmed on Monday that it will take responsibility for all British government debt should Scotland vote for independence in September, a move it hopes will avoid jitters in bond markets ahead of the referendum. An independent Scotland would be responsible for "a fair and proportionate share" of Britain's liabilities but a share of the outstanding debt would not be transferred to Scotland, it said, adding the terms of repayment would be subject to negotiation.

AFP-AP-Reuters

(China Daily 01/14/2014 page11)