IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Iraq

Gunmen storm govt complex

Gunmen in military uniform broke into the city council and courthouse complex in Samarra in northern Iraq on Tuesday, trapping a number of staff members inside, police and witnesses said. At least three policemen were killed, while 25 policemen and eight civilians were wounded, including the deputy head of the city council, Ammar Ahmed, said Omar al-Obeidi, a doctor at the hospital in Samarra.

Thailand

Rangers admit to killing boys

Two Thai army rangers have confessed to shooting dead three young brothers in the country's violence-torn deep south in an attack that sparked a spate of gruesome tit-for-tat killings, police said on Tuesday. Maming Bin Mama, 21, and Sagrueara Jaehsea, 25, confessed on Monday to gunning down the brothers - aged 3, 5 and 9 - as they returned home from a local mosque in Bacho last month.

Emergency state to go on

A state of emergency in Bangkok could be extended until anti-government protests end completely, Thailand's foreign minister said on Tuesday, adding that he feared more violence even though calm has returned to the capital in the past few days. Protests aimed at overthrowing Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra are in their fifth month but over the weekend the remaining activists closed down several big protest sites and moved to a central Bangkok park.

United Kingdom

Aide arrested for child porn

A senior aide to Prime Minister David Cameron has been arrested and has resigned after images potentially related to child pornography were found on computers. Cameron's Downing Street office says officials found out about the potential offense on Feb 12 and notified the National Crime Agency.

Egypt

Sisi reaffirms presidential bid

Egyptian army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi gave the clearest indication yet that he will run for president, saying he cannot ignore the demands of the "majority", the state news agency reported on Tuesday. Sisi, who toppled Egypt's first democratically elected president in July, said "official procedures" concerning his candidacy were expected in the coming days. Sisi is widely expected to become president of Egypt.

India

Top industrialist jailed for a week

India's Supreme Court on Tuesday sent a top industrialist to jail for at least a week for his connection with a financial fraud case. A two-judge bench remanded to judicial custody Subrata Roy, the chairman of the $11 billion SAHARA Group, along with two other company directors.

Reuters-AFP-AP

(China Daily 03/05/2014 page11)