Japan

Blizzards claim at least 6 lives

At least six people died in a spate of snow-related incidents as blizzards swept across the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido over the weekend, police and news reports said on Sunday. A 40-year-old woman and her three children were found dead late on Saturday in a car buried under snow in the town of Nakashibetsu, a local police spokesman said.

Malaysia

5 policemen killed in ambush

Gunmen ambushed and killed five Malaysian policemen as fears mounted that armed intruders from the southern Philippines had slipped into at least three coastal districts on Borneo island, officials said on Sunday. Two of the attackers were also fatally shot on Saturday night, escalating tensions in eastern Sabah state.

Israel

Coalition talks get 2 weeks

Israeli President Shimon Peres on Saturday granted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu another two weeks to form a governing coalition, after Netanyahu failed to build a broad coalition including ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties. Netanyahu told Peres that he has yet to build a coalition because some parties wish to "boycott" an entire Israeli demographic.

Egypt

Mubarak retrial set for April 13

Egypt's ousted president Hosni Mubarak will face a new trial beginning on April 13 on charges related to the killings of protesters during the uprising against him, a court ruled on Sunday. Mubarak and his former interior minister were sentenced to life in prison in June for failing to prevent the killing of protesters during the 18-day revolution in 2011 that ended his 29-year rule.

Myanmar

Opposition to hold congress

In another sign of political reform and reconciliation in Myanmar, the country's biggest party led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will hold its first-ever congress in the country's former capital next week. About 900 party members from 260 townships across the country will attend the three-day conference starting on Friday in Yangon to choose the party's new leadership.

Afghanistan

Karzai condemns slaying of 2 boys

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday condemned a NATO helicopter strike in which two brothers, both under 7 years old, were shot dead after being mistaken for Taliban insurgents.

AFP-AP

(China Daily 03/04/2013 page12)