IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Afghanistan

3 British soldiers killed in blast

Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday that Britain was paying a "very high price" in Afghanistan after three soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb. Six British soldiers have now been killed this year in Afghanistan, where British casualties have slowed over the past year.

Ireland

Bill published on abortions

Ireland's government unveiled a long-awaited bill on Wednesday that lays down new rules explaining when life-saving abortions can be performed, a point of potentially lethal confusion for women in a country that outlaws the practice. Prime Minister Enda Kenny said he hoped the coming weeks of debate would not turn bitter.

Australia

Banknote set to fetch $3.6m

Australia's first banknote, printed 100 years ago and found in a letter in England in 1999, has gone on sale for A$3.5 million ($3.6 million), auctioneers said on Wednesday. The 10 shilling note was issued on May 1, 1913 and presented by Prime Minister Andrew Fisher to Judith Denman, the 5-year-old daughter of the governor-general at the time, Lord Denman.

Russia

3 police officers shot dead

Three police officers were killed and two more injured when gunmen opened fire on their cars in Russia's restive region of Dagestan, investigators said on Wednesday. A police major and two other officers were killed on Tuesday evening while driving through Buinaksk, a city about 30 km from the capital of Dagestan, Makhachkala, in Russia's North Caucasus.

Iraq

Bombings claim at least 15 lives

At least 15 people were killed in several bombings in Iraq on Wednesday, medics and police said. One of the attacks, a roadside bomb targeting a federal police convoy, killed at least four policemen in Baiji, 180 km north of Baghdad, police said.

Saudi Arabia

13 killed in flash floods

Thirteen people have died and four more are missing in Saudi Arabia after downpours caused flash floods in several areas of the desert kingdom, the civil defense authorities said on Wednesday. The official SPA state news agency quoted Colonel Abdullah al-Harethi as saying people died in several areas including in the capital Riyadh, Baha in the south, Hail in the north and in the west.

AFP-AP-Reuters

(China Daily 05/02/2013 page12)