IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Kenya

Gunmen kill 36 quarry workers

Al Shabaab militants killed at least 36 non-Muslim workers at a quarry in northeastern Kenya on Tuesday, beheading at least two of them in revenge for Kenyan military action against the group in neighboring Somalia. The gunmen crept up on dozens of workers sleeping in tents, a resident said, in the same area near the Somali border where they hijacked a bus and killed 28 passengers just over a week ago.

India

Doctor used shared needles

An independent investigation into the deaths of 13 women in India after mass sterilization surgeries found that the doctor and his staff used the same needles for all of the procedures and never changed their gloves. The women died after being paid to have the surgery at a state-run camp in Chhattisgarh state last month. The surgeries left dozens hospitalized and sparked widespread criticism of India's family planning program. Authorities have blamed the deaths on the drugs given to the women after the operations, which they said were laced with a chemical commonly found in rat poison.

Ukraine

Sides agree to new cease-fire

Ukrainian government troops and separatist forces in the Luhansk region have agreed to a new cease-fire, international monitors said. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said that, under the agreement, hostilities are to cease on Friday along the line of contact between the combatants.

Lebanon

IS leader's wife held at border

The Lebanese army detained a wife and a daughter of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as they crossed from Syria nine days ago, security officials said on Tuesday, in a setback to the group as it comes under increased military pressure. The woman was identified as Saja al-Dulaimi, an Iraqi, by a senior Lebanese political source and security official. The Lebanese newspaper As-Safir reported she had been detained in coordination with "foreign intelligence".

Poland

Boy, 2, left out in cold for night

Doctors in southern Poland are working to save a 2-year-old boy who was found unconscious after spending a frigid night outdoors, wearing only socks and a pajama top. Janusz Skalski, a doctor at the children's hospital in Krakow, said on Tuesday that the boy's body temperature was 12 C and his heart was beating once every few dozen seconds when he was brought in. Skalski said the body temperature has been raised to 36 C - nearly normal - and a regular heartbeat has been restored, but the child's chances are unknown.

AP - Reuters - AFP

(China Daily 12/03/2014 page11)