IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Papua New Guinea

Death penalty gets approval

Papua New Guinea pressed ahead on Tuesday with a controversial return of the death penalty, passing laws allowing execution by a range of methods, while repealing a contested sorcery act. The nation's Parliament voted to extend the long-dormant death penalty to cover rape, robbery and murder, with legislation permitting hanging, electrocution and firing squad executions.

South Korea

2 nuclear reactors halted

South Korea shut down two nuclear reactors on Tuesday and delayed the scheduled operations at two more, prompting government warnings of "unprecedented" power shortages. The move, which comes amid a widening investigation into a scandal involving parts with fake safety certificates, means 10 of the country's 23 nuclear reactors are offline.

Nigeria

Pirates raid oil products tanker

Armed pirates attacked an oil products tanker off the coast of Nigeria in West Africa and abducted an unknown number of crew members, security sources said on Tuesday. Increasing piracy in the Gulf of Guinea region, which includes Africa's No 1 oil producer Nigeria and is a significant source of cocoa and metals for world markets, is jacking up costs for shipping firms operating there.

Pakistan

Gunmen kill polio worker

Police say gunmen in Pakistan have shot dead a female polio worker and wounded another in the northwest, while assailants have gunned down three Shiite Muslims in the south. No group immediately claimed responsibility for slaying the vaccination workers.

Japan

US F-15 crashes off Okinawa

A US air force F-15 fighter crashed off the southern Japanese island of Okinawa early on Tuesday after the aircraft developed problems in flight. The pilot ejected and was recovered safely. The F-15, flying out of Kadena Air Base, went down about 115 km east of Okinawa, the military said in a statement.

AFP-Reuters-AP

(China Daily 05/29/2013 page11)