IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Nigeria

Hostages have not been freed

Reports that seven French hostages kidnapped in Cameroon were found alive and safe in a house in northern Nigeria on Thursday are false, a Nigerian military spokesman said. "It's not true," said Sagir Musa, spokesman for the military Joint Task Force in Borno state, where the hostages were reported to have been released.

United States

Ex-congressmanpleads guilty

Former US congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a prominent US civil rights leader, pleaded guilty to criminal charges that he engaged in a scheme to spend $750,000 in campaign funds to purchase luxury items, memorabilia and other goods. He faces 46 to 57 months in prison, and a fine of $10,000 to $100,000.

Plane crash claims 5 lives

An official said five people are dead and two injured after a small jet ran off the end of a runway and crashed at an airport in eastern Georgia. Thomson-McDuffie County Sheriff Logan Marshall said the jet carrying seven people crashed after 8 pm on Wednesday, local time.

United Kingdom

Three convicted in terrorist plot

Three young British Muslims were convicted on Thursday of plotting terrorist bomb attacks that prosecutors said were intended to be bigger than the 2005 London transit bombings.

A London jury found them guilty of being central figures in the foiled plot to explode knapsack bombs in crowded areas.

Indonesia

Gunmen shoot 8 soldiers dead

Gunmen killed eight soldiers and two civilians on Thursday in two separate attacks against the Indonesian army in the restive easternmost province of Papua, the military said. About 20 assailants attacked a group of nine soldiers walking to Ilaga Airport in Puncak district to collect communication equipment, killing seven.

Bulgaria

Parliament OKs govt resignation

Bulgaria's Parliament accepted the government's resignation on Thursday after a spate of violent protests over high utility bills, opening the way for an early election and underscoring anger in Europe over weak growth and austerity.

Belgium

NATO chief criticizes cuts

The head of the NATO military alliance is urging member countries to stop cutting their defense budgets in response to tough economic times, saying continued reductions will compromise safety. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says defense cuts across the alliance are "a matter of concern".

Reuters-AP

(China Daily 02/22/2013 page11)