IN BRIEF (Page 11)

United Nations

Palestine seeks ICC membership

Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour told member states of the International Criminal Court in a first address on Monday that Palestine plans to join the ICC "at an appropriate time". Mansour made the address after Palestine was given the status of observer state to the assembly of states parties to the ICC, but it has yet to formally apply to join the 122-member court.

United States

Military marks 'turning point'

Marking what he called a "turning point" for the US military, US President Barack Obama on Monday saluted troops returning from Afghanistan and declared that the United States is moving past the time for large deployments aimed at nation building. Obama noted that nearly 180,000 troops were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan when he took office, and that number will be down to less than 15,000 at the end of the month.

Turkey

President slams EU criticism

Turkey's president rejected on Monday the European Union's criticism of police raids on media organizations in the country, telling the 28-member bloc to "keep your opinions to yourselves". The EU has criticized Sunday's police raids, which targeted a newspaper and a television station affiliated with the US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Tajikistan

2.5 tons of drugs seized

Tajikistan has seized a total of 2.5 metric tons of narcotics in an anti-drug operation since May, authorities said on Tuesday. The operation was conducted from May 20 to Nov 30 to detect and destroy areas cultivating drug-containing plants. At least 193 cases had been recorded on wild hemp covering a total area of 3.7 hectares.

United Kingdom

Failed bombers lose appeal

Four men who attempted to set off a series of explosives in London in 2005 did not have their right to a fair trial breached, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday. Three of the men argued that they did not have access to a lawyer during questioning and the fourth said the proper procedure was not followed when he gave testimony.

Spain

Google News shuts down

Google on Tuesday followed through with a pledge to shut down Google News in Spain in reaction to a Spanish law requiring news publishers to receive payment for content even if they are willing to give it away. The company's Spanish Google News page vanished and was replaced by a message saying it was sad to announce the closure.

AP - AFP - Xinhua - Reuters

(China Daily 12/17/2014 page11)