United States

Government to pursue trade dispute

The United States took a step on Friday toward potentially extending import duties on solar energy products from Chinese mainland to also cover panels made with parts from Taiwan in a case that could have a major impact on the fast-growing US solar market. The US International Trade Commission found there was reason to think the imports could harm the local solar industry, putting Washington on a path toward widening the reach of the steep duties it slapped on products from Chinese mainland in 2012 and potentially escalating a tit-for-tat trade spat.

Obama considering new pressure on Assad

United States President Barack Obama said on Saturday he was considering new ways to pressure the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as he pledged fresh US assistance to Jordan's King Abdullah, whose country is reeling from the Syrian civil war. At the talks between Obama and Abdullah at the Sunnylands retreat in a desert region of California, the US president told reporters that he does not expect the conflict to be resolved any time soon. "There are going to be some immediate steps that we have to take to help the humanitarian assistance there," he added. Obama did not disclose what steps he has under consideration. A senior administration official said the two leaders also discussed the rising extremist threat emanating from Syria.

Indonesia

Corby interview put on hold

Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby, who was last week freed on parole from a Bali prison after serving almost 10 years of a 20-year sentence, has agreed not to hold any interviews "at this stage" after a meeting with parole officers at the luxury villa in which she is staying. The developments came after photos emerged of a relaxed Corby strolling through the backyard of the Bali villa where she has stayed under heavy security since her release last Monday. The head of Bali's parole board said earlier that his officers would give Corby an "instruction" not to do any media interviews, on the orders of the Justice Minister in Jakarta. Reports surfaced shortly after Corby's release that she had struck a lucrative TV deal reportedly worth $2 million - a figure denied by Corby's sister Mercedes in a video.

Thailand

Protesters vow to continue fight

Antigovernment protesters vowed on Saturday to maintain their campaign to unseat Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra despite dwindling numbers on the streets and a first tentative move by police against sites they are occupying in Bangkok. Riot police reclaimed a thoroughfare in the capital's government district on Friday without resistance. The protesters view Yingluck as a proxy for her elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, a self-exiled former prime minister who clashed with the establishment before he was overthrown by the army in 2006. They are demanding that Yingluck makes way for an appointed "people's council" to overhaul the political system and rid it of the influence of Thaksin, a telecoms billionaire they accuse of using taxpayer money to buy votes with populist giveaways.

Norway

Mass murderer wants PS3

A mass murderer who claimed to have practiced with violent video games in preparation for a killing spree that claimed 77 lives in Norway in 2011 is demanding that prison authorities upgrade his PlayStation 2 to a PS3. Norwegian Anders Behring Brevik, who is 18 months into a 21-year prison sentence for the horrific crime, has said that he used the popular video game Call of Duty to practice his aiming and World of Warcraft to hide his plans. In a November 2013 letter to prison authorities obtained by Agence France-Presse on Friday, Brevik, 35, threatens to go on a hunger strike because he believes he's being treated "worse than an animal". Brevik's list of demands included access to better consoles and better games. Brevik, who bombed government buildings on July 22, 2011, killing eight people, before killing another 69, mostly teenagers, in a mass shooting at a youth camp on the island of Utoya, was convicted of mass murder, causing a fatal explosion, and terrorism.

Central African Republic

EU to send more troops

The European Union committed on Friday to sending 500 troops to the tumultuous Central African Republic - a number that the coalition is "looking" to double, according to its foreign policy chief. The announcement from the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton came after her address to the UN Security Council and after France announced it will send 400 additional troops to its former colony. Already, France, an EU member, has deployed 1,600 personnel there to support African Union troops following a UN Security Council vote in December authorizing military intervention.

Italy

Prime minister resigns

Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, who was sacked by his own party on Thursday in a back-room mutiny, resigned on Friday. President Giorgio Napolitano accepted the resignation and immediately scheduled talks with political party leaders. He is expected to ask the head of Letta's Democratic Party, Florence Mayor Matteo Renzi, to try to form a new government. Letta is the third premier to fall from grace in as many years. Renzi, 39, spent Friday presiding over a Valentine's Day ceremony in Florence's city hall, feting Florentines celebrating their 50th wedding anniversaries. A day earlier, he orchestrated an internal no-confidence vote in the party against Letta, accusing him of failing to lift Italy out of its economic and political doldrums. Without the party's backing, Letta had no choice but to resign.

Reuters

Portraits of success The 57th World Press Photo Contest unveils on Friday in Amsterdam with three Chinese photographers' works as the winning entries: (clockwise from left) Wolves Walking in the Desert by Fan Shangzhen, Competition on Bars by Jia Guorong and Daily Exercise by Chen Kunrong. Jia's works won the top prize in Sports Action Stories category. Photos Provided to China Daily

(China Daily 02/16/2014 page2)