IN BRIEF (Page 11)

United Kingdom

Police arrest 76 at 'die-in'

London's Metropolitan Police said 76 people were arrested on Thursday during a protest over the death of Eric Garner, the unarmed black man who died after a New York police officer applied a chokehold. A small group broke away from the main protest - called a die-in for Garner - in west London and tried to break into the Westfield shopping center, one of Europe's largest inner-city malls. The group clashed with security staff and damaged property, the police said.

Jimmy Savile's chauffeur jailed

A friend of Jimmy Savile, the late British television presenter who was unmasked after his death in 2011 as one of Britain's worst sex offenders, has been jailed for 25 years for a string of underage sex crimes dating back to the 1960s and 1970s. Ray Teret was convicted earlier this month at Manchester Crown Court of seven charges of rape and 11 of sexual assault on 11 victims. At the time of the attacks, more than 40 years ago, Teret, 73, was a popular Manchester DJ who had also worked for Savile as a chauffeur.

United States

Google News to close in Spain

Google said on Wednesday it will shut down Google News in Spain because of a new law, which takes effect in January, that will force it to pay news outlets whose content it publishes either partially or in whole. The closure will take effect on Tuesday. "Sadly, as a result of a new Spanish law, we'll shortly have to close Google News in Spain," Google News Director Richard Gingras wrote on a company blog.

Yemen

Al-Qaida blames deaths on Obama

A top al-Qaida leader in Yemen blamed US President Barack Obama for the recent deaths of US and South African hostages during a failed rescue operation. Nasr bin Ali al-Ansi's video message, obtained by Site Intelligence on Thursday, is the first comment by the group after the deaths of Luke Somers and Pierre Korkie as US special forces moved in on an al-Qaida safe house. Al-Ansi said he warned the US against such attempts after another rescue attempt failed in November.

Afghanistan

Six caught carrying opium

The police seized 11 kg of opium poppies and six suspects during routine checks in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province on Thursday, police spokesman Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal said. "Two women and four men who were smuggling opium from Kunar to Jalalabad were arrested by police in Jalalabad on Thursday morning," Mashriqiwal said. He said efforts are underway to identify and arrest other members of the network involved in drug trafficking in the province.

AP - Reuters - AFP - Xinhua

(China Daily 12/12/2014 page11)