Briefly

UNITED STATES

Suspect in killings of homeless arrested

A man suspected of stalking and shooting homeless people as they slept on the streets of New York City and Washington was arrested early on Tuesday. Police said at least two people were killed and three others wounded in the attacks. The suspect, Gerald Brevard, has been charged with first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill, and assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with the attacks on homeless men in Washington. He faces further charges for the shootings of men in New York. The shootings, which took place between March 3 and March 12, left two homeless men dead and three wounded. Three of the shootings took place in Washington and two in New York.

DPRK

Launch of projectile thought to have failed

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea appeared to have failed in its launch of an unidentified projectile, the Republic of Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Wednesday. The JCS said in a statement that the DPRK launched the projectile from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at about 9:30 am local time, noting that it appeared to have failed soon after the liftoff. It said the intelligence authorities of the ROK and the United States were conducting an additional analysis. The ROK said the DPRK tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile system on Feb 27 and March 5, but the DPRK said those were launches associated with reconnaissance satellite development tests.

IRAQ

Parliament to elect president next week

Iraq's parliament said on Tuesday that it will hold a session to elect a new president on March 26. Earlier, the parliament announced the names of 40 candidates for the presidential election, including President Barham Salih, who represents the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Kurdistan Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed Khalid, who is running for the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Rizgar Mohammed Amin, a former chief judge of the Iraqi Special Tribunal. The list also includes non-Kurdish candidates, though the power-sharing system in Iraq after 2003 stipulates that the presidency should be reserved for the Kurds, the speaker's post for Sunnis, and the prime minister's post for Shiites.

Agencies - Xinhua