IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Ukraine

Rebels' blockade of airport ends

Ukraine said on Monday its forces had ended a rebel blockade of a strategic airport in the east as it traded charges and threats with Russia over violations of their joint border during a weekend of fierce military combat. Kiev said its warplanes had inflicted heavy losses on the separatists during airstrikes on their positions, including an armored convoy that it said had entered the country from Russia.

India

Death sentences placed on hold

India's top court has put on hold the death sentence of two convicts on Monday, defense lawyer A.P. Singh said, in a 2012 Delhi gang-rape case that sparked nationwide outrage about sexual assaults in India. The sentences for the convicts, gym instructor Vinay Sharma and bus cleaner Akshay Kumar Singh, were put on hold by the Supreme Court, Singh said.

Iraq

2 car bombs kill at least 7

Two car bombs in commercial areas of Baghdad killed at least seven people on Monday, as government forces and allied Sunni tribal fighters tried to dislodge militants from a small town north of the capital, officials said. The deadliest attack took place near the Green Zone that is home to many government offices and foreign embassies.

United States

Fire hits terror suspect's eatery

A fire has destroyed an upstate New York restaurant owned by a Yemen-born man charged last month with plotting vengeance attacks against members of the US military and the Muslim community. Firefighters responded late on Sunday night to a report of a fire at the former Mojoes Restaurant in Rochester, according to media reports.

United Kingdom

Abuse inquiry head resigns

A retired female judge whom the government appointed last week to lead an inquiry into allegations that public figures abused children in the 1980s has resigned from her post. Elizabeth Butler-Sloss was meant to head a wide-ranging inquiry into whether public bodies, including the BBC and religious authorities, had taken their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse seriously.

Turkey

Pro-Erdogan mayor targeted

Five people were wounded in southeastern Turkey, a pro-government mayor said on Monday, when suspected Kurdish militants attacked his car as he returned from a presidential campaign rally for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Mayor Menderes Atilla said a car bomb detonated as his car drove through Ceylanpinar town in Sanliurfa province late on Sunday.

Reuters - AP

(China Daily 07/15/2014 page12)