IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Cambodia

'Minority leader' to be recognized

Cambodia's National Assembly will soon amend its internal rules to formally recognize a "minority leader", Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Thursday. "A leader, whose party holds at least 25 percent of the parliamentary seats, will be formally recognized as a minority leader with a rank equal to the prime minister," he said. "The minority leader will be the dialogue partner of the prime minister on the issues of national interest."

United Kingdom

Ebola vaccine goes on trial

Scientists at Oxford University have launched the first clinical tests of a new approach to an Ebola vaccine by using a booster developed by Denmark's Bavarian Nordic that may improve the effects of a shot from GlaxoSmithKline. Thirty healthy volunteers in Britain who have already received the GSK experimental Ebola vaccine and the US National Institutes of Health will get the booster shot, researchers said on Thursday.

Poland

Boy in freezing cold recovering

A doctor said it's a miracle that a toddler discovered unconscious in subfreezing temperatures in southern Poland is reacting to commands and reaching for toys after only four days. Dr Janusz Skalski of the children's hospital in Krakow said on Thursday the boy will need rehabilitation to help restore his full physical and intellectual powers, but his quick recovery surprised everyone. The child's temperature was 12.7 C when hospital treatment began early on Sunday.

United States

Apple CEO lends his name to bill

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, who made headlines in October when he publicly acknowledged being gay, is lending his name to legislation to bar discrimination against state employees on the basis of their sexual orientation in his native Alabama. Democratic state Representative Patricia Todd, Alabama's sole openly gay lawmaker, said on Wednesday Apple was initially hesitant about having Cook's name on her bill, which faces steep odds in the Republican-dominated Legislature, but later embraced the idea.

Thailand

Killing suspects to stand trial

Two Myanmar migrant workers were indicted on Thursday for killing two British tourists on Koh Tao, a resort island in the Gulf of Thailand, in a case that has raised concerns about tourist safety and Thai police conduct. The bodies of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were found on Sept 15 on a beach.

Reuters - Xinhua - AP

(China Daily 12/05/2014 page12)