IN BRIEF (Page 11)

United States

Firms halted spread of video

Silicon Valley firms were prepared this week to block a video of an Islamic State militant beheading a US journalist after a previous video by the same group showing the death of James Foley ricocheted through social networks in what was seen by some as a propaganda coup for the extremists. The video showing the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff was first uploaded onto a different website on Tuesday and quickly deleted when copied onto YouTube, slowing the spread of posts linking to it, said a Silicon Valley insider.

France

Leader accused by ex-partner

French President Francois Hollande's image took a new knock on Thursday with publication of a tell-all book in which ex-partner Valerie Trierweiler accused the leader of dismissively describing the poor as "the toothless". Hollande ended his seven-year relationship with Trierweiler after his affair with an actress was revealed in January. The 49-year-old journalist vowed at the time that, breaking with a French tradition of maintaining discretion over private lives in politics, she would not keep quiet.

Landing site to be unveiled

The European Space Agency will on Sept 15 unveil which of five possible sites it has chosen for the first landing of a probe from Earth on a comet, it said on Thursday. "At present, the landing is scheduled for Nov 11," added an ESA statement. Comets are believed by astrophysicists to be made of ancient ice and dust left from the building of the solar system.

Thailand

Yingluck dodges indictment

Thailand's Office of the Attorney-General on Thursday decided not to indict former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra for malfeasance in a controversial rice-pledging scheme, but set up a joint committee to conduct further investigations. The committee will be set up in 14 days, which will seek more evidence before prosecutors decide if there are sufficient grounds for pressing charges against Yingluck. If found guilty, Yingluck could face a jail term.

Egypt

Blackout hits Cairo rush hour

A huge power outage blacked out most of Cairo on Thursday, causing major disruption across the city of some 20 million people at the height of the morning rush hour. Services were completely suspended on one of the city's three metro lines and heavily disrupted on a second, the state MENA news agency reported. Power was gradually restored several hours later as temperatures rose toward 40 C in the middle of the day.

AP - Reuters - Xinhua

(China Daily 09/05/2014 page11)