News In Brief

Kerry to visit Egypt tomorrow
Afp, Cairo

US Secretary of State John Kerry will arrive in Cairo tomorrow for his first visit to Egypt since the army overthrew president Mohamed Morsi in July, state media said.
Kerry's visit comes at a time of strained relations between the traditional allies after Washington suspended some military aid to Egypt following Morsi's ouster.

Court grenade attack kills 2 in Russia
Afp, Moscow

A Russian man unhappy with a prior conviction walked into a Urals courtroom yesterday and detonated a grenade, killing himself and one other person, news agencies reported.
Two others were injured in the incident, which occurred in the Kurgan region, about 1,000 miles east of Moscow. He appeared to be carrying three military grenades, ITAR-TASS reported.

Vast Antarctic sanctuary plans fail
Afp, Sydney

Plans to create two vast ocean sanctuaries in Antarctica to protect the pristine wilderness failed yesterday for a third time, with Russia and China blocking the bids, delegates at 24-nation talks said.
The 10-day talks ended with the nations unable to agree to a US-New Zealand proposal for a protected zone in the Ross Sea and another by Australia, France and the European Union for a sanctuary off East Antarctica.
Environmentalists said an ocean wilderness that is home to 16,000 known species, including whales, seals, albatrosses, penguins and unique species of fish, was at stake.

'Anonymous' strikes Singapore on press freedom
Afp, Singapore

Activist group Anonymous hacked a Singapore newspaper website yesterday over Internet freedom in the city-state, where government agencies are now reportedly on alert for wider cyber attacks.
The website of the pro-government Straits Times was hacked early in the day by apparent members of the group, which is opposing recently introduced licensing rules for news websites in Singapore on censorship grounds.