IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Malaysia

'Allah' ruled for Muslims only

Malaysia's top court ruled on Monday that non-Muslims cannot use the word "Allah" to refer to God, delivering the final word on a contentious debate that has reinforced complaints that religious minorities are treated unfairly in the Muslim-majority country. Most Christians in Malaysia worship in English, Tamil or various Chinese dialects, and refer to God in those languages, but some Malay-speaking people on Borneo island have no other word for God but "Allah", a Malay word derived from Arabic.

Bangladesh

8 to hang for 2001 bombing

A court in Bangladesh's capital on Monday sentenced eight people, including a leader of a banned Islamist group, to death for their roles in a bombing at a New Year's celebration concert 13 years ago. The bombing killed 10 people and injured dozens of others at a park in downtown Dhaka during the Bengali New Year celebration in 2001.

Egypt

Al-Jazeera reporters jailed

Three Al-Jazeera journalists were jailed for seven years in Egypt on Monday after a court convicted them of helping a "terrorist organization" by spreading lies, in a case that has raised questions about the country's respect for media freedoms. The three, who all deny the charge, include Australian Peter Greste, Al-Jazeera's correspondent in Kenya, and Canadian-Egyptian national Mohammed Fahmy, Cairo bureau chief of Al-Jazeera English.

Syria

Israeli strikes kill 10 people

Israeli airstrikes on Syrian military positions killed at least 10 members of Syria's army on Monday, a day after Israel said an attack from inside Syria killed an Israeli boy in the Golan Heights. Israeli tanks and warplanes fired at Syrian army positions overnight on Sunday in response to what an Israeli military spokesman described as an intentional attack from inside Syria.

India

Govt to enhance nuke oversight

India said on Monday it was ratifying an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency to expand oversight of its civilian nuclear program, in a move aimed at unblocking a major nuclear partnership with the United States. The ratification sends a strong signal that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to bolster strategic and trade ties with the US when he meets US President Barack Obama in Washington in September.

United States

Gay congressman gets married

New York State's first openly gay member of Congress has married his longtime partner. Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney exchanged vows with Randy Gene Florke on Saturday. They've been together 22 years and have three children, ages 11 to 24.

AP-Reuters-AFP

(China Daily 06/24/2014 page11)