China

Caution urged on new missiles

China called for a responsible attitude after the US announced plans to bolster its missile defense after "threats" from Pyongyang. Such measures will "only intensify antagonism and will not help solve the problem", Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Monday. "We hope relevant parties adopt a responsible attitude and deal with this issue with caution."

Canada

Convicts caught after escape

Two prisoners who staged a daring weekend escape from jail in eastern Canada using a hijacked helicopter have been re-arrested, authorities said on Monday. The inmates were lifted out of Saint-Jerome prison near Montreal on Sunday by accomplices who had seized a helicopter, forcing its pilot to hover over the jail rooftop while the two were hauled up on a rope ladder.

Somalia

Car bomb claims at least 10 lives

A car bomb exploded near the presidential palace in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Monday, killing at least 10 people in a blast that appeared to target senior government officials, police said.

The suicide attacker detonated explosives while driving along a boulevard that runs between the palace and the national theater, senior police officer Abdiqadir Mohamud said.

Pakistan

4 dead in attack on jail complex

Two suicide bombers attacked a judicial compound in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Monday, killing four people and taking hostages, officials said. Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar said one bomber blew himself up outside the complex, causing the deaths, while the other entered the complex in an apparent bid to storm into a jail and release militants held there.

United States

Suspect held in woman's death

Istanbul's police chief said a man suspected of killing a New York City woman in Istanbul was caught in Syria in a joint operation by Syrian rebels and Turkish officials. Huseyin Capkin contradicted a statement by the interior minister who had said the suspect was detained at the border as he entered Turkey.

India

6 accused of raping tourist

Six men accused of raping a Swiss tourist who was cycling with her husband in central India have been produced in court and charged with gang rape. Police Superintendent Chandra Shekhar Solanki said the men were arrested in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh state and are poor farmers from nearby villages.

China Daily-AFP-Reuters-AP

(China Daily 03/19/2013 page11)