IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Myanmar

Curfew imposed after 2 killed

Myanmar's second-largest city was put under curfew on Thursday after two people were killed in the latest outbreak of Buddhist-Muslim violence to convulse the nation. Dozens of armed police were seen patrolling the tense streets of Mandalay, where shops were shuttered after angry mobs rampaged through the normally bustling central metropolis for two consecutive nights.

Germany

Govt approves minimum wage

Germany's lower house of Parliament approved the introduction of a nationwide minimum wage of 8.50 euros ($11.60) per hour on Thursday, following a heated monthslong debate between politicians and businesses who warned it would cost jobs. The law is a flagship reform of the center-left Social Democrats, who made it a condition for entering a "grand coalition" with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives last year.

Egypt

Cairo blast claims 2 lives

Two men were killed in a bomb blast in Cairoon Thursday, security sources said, one of several explosions on the anniversary of the army's removal of Egypt's elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. The explosion occurred in a flat in Kerdasa, a district of the capital, where around 10 policemen were killed in an Islamist mob attack last summer.

Ethiopia

Nation demands rebel extradition

Ethiopia said on Thursday it wanted to extradite the leader of an outlawed opposition group arrested in Yemen to face terrorism charges. Andargachew Tsige, secretary-general of Ginbot 7 - labeled a terrorist organization under Ethiopian law - was arrested while transiting through the airport of Yemen's capital Sanaa last week, according to a statement from the group.

Italy

'Terrorists' may use migrant boats

The head of Italy's navy warned on Thursday that terrorists could be using migrant boats to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, amid increased concern among intelligence services of possible attacks by extremists. "There's a risk not only of massive illegal immigration, but also of terrorist infiltrations," Luigi Binelli Mantelli told La Stampa.

United Kingdom

Trafficking gang sentenced

Five members of a human trafficking gang that lured more than 120 women to Britain and forced them into prostitution have been sentenced to between three and 12 years in prison. Police say the gang, led by 35-year-old Indian national Vishal Chaudhary, lured most of its victims from Hungary with false promises of legitimate work.

Reuters-AFP-AP

(China Daily 07/04/2014 page12)