IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Egypt

Verdicts won't be set aside

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi said on Tuesday he will not interfere in court rulings, a day after three Al-Jazeera journalists were sentenced to seven years in prison in a verdict that caused an international outcry. The ruling, on terrorism-related charges, stunned their families and brought a landslide of condemnation and calls for El-Sisi to intervene. According to Egypt's constitution, the president has the right to issue a pardon or commute the sentences.

Pakistan

Afghan remarks called 'baseless'

Pakistan on Tuesday rejected as baseless the remarks by the Afghan Foreign Ministry that Pakistani troops have intruded into its territory and killed security personnel and civilians. The Afghan ministry said on Monday that Kabul is weighing a response to Pakistani shooting that killed three soldiers and eight civilians in eastern Kunar province this week. The ministry's spokesman Ahmad Shakib Mustaghni told a weekly briefing in Kabul on Monday that the "Pakistani forces, in civilian dress carried out the attack" in Dangam district two days ago.

Nigeria

60 females, 31 boys abducted

Islamic extremists have abducted 60 more girls and women and 31 boys from villages in northeast Nigeria, witnesses said on Tuesday. Security forces denied the kidnappings. Nigeria's government has attracted widespread criticism for its slow response to the abductions of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April. There was no way to safely and independently confirm the report from Kummabza, 150 km from Maiduguri, capital of Borno state and headquarters of a military emergency command that has failed to curtail near-daily attacks by Boko Haram militants.

United Nations

At least 1,000 killed in 17 days

More than 1,000 people - at least three quarters of them civilians - were killed this month as Islamist militants swept through large swaths of northern and western Iraq, the UN said on Tuesday. At least 1,075 people were killed and 658 injured in the country in the 17 days from June 5 and 22, Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the UN human rights office told reporters in Geneva. He said the numbers "should be viewed very much as a minimum".

France

Far right fails to form bloc

France's far right National Front has failed to form a political coalition in the European Parliament by Tuesday's deadline, crippling the rising party's ability to make its voice heard. Party leader Marine Le Pen had earlier expressed confidence in her ability to form a group - at least 25 lawmakers from seven countries, which ensures more speaking time, funds and other advantages.

AP-AFP-Xinhua

(China Daily 06/25/2014 page11)