The world in brief

— QUOTE OF THE DAY “[I] called for parliamentary election boycott in 2010 to expose sham democracy.

Today I repeat my call, will not be part of an act of deception.” Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel laureate and Egyptian opposition leader, in a Tweet calling for a boycott of parliamentary elections Article, this page

2nd bird-flu death reported in China

HONG KONG - China has reported a second fatality from the H5N1 bird flu, a 31-year-old man who died of organ failure in the south-central Chinese city of Guiyang.

The flu, which is circulated in poultry and birds, has infected only 600 humans in the past decade. However, it has proved fatal in half the cases, so public-health officials closely monitor its transmission. Scientists fear that the flu could mutate into a form that is highly contagious in humans.

In the most recent case, the man died Friday at a hospital in Guiyang. That city is also where a 21-year-old woman died Feb. 13. The official Xinhua News Agency said both victims had been in close contact with birds, the most common means of transmission.

As of Feb. 15, there have been 10 cases of H5N1 reported worldwide since the start of the year, according to the World Health Organization. In all of 2012, there were 32 cases worldwide.

Bangladesh students slam ex-leaders

DHAKA, Bangladesh - Thousands of students rallied in Bangladesh’s capital Saturday demanding death to Islamic political party leaders who are on trial for purported war crimes during the country’s 1971 independence war.

Eight top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamic party, are being tried on charges of mass killings, rapes and arson.

Earlier this month, a tribunal convicted party leader Abdul Quader Mollah of mass killings during the war and sentenced him to life in prison, a sentence that many Bangladeshis considered lenient.

On Saturday, about 5,000 students shouted “Death to the killers” as they rallied in Dhaka.

The government says it will appeal Mollah’s sentence before the Supreme Court this week, asking for the death penalty for the 65-year-old.

France seeks strict meat-labeling rules

PARIS - France will press all of Europe to impose strict labeling rules on the meat inside prepared foods to restore confidence that has been shaken by a widening scandal on horse meat that was mislabeled and cooked into frozen dinners, President Francois Hollande said Saturday.

Three major French food companies, including one at the heart of the horse-meat furor, agreed over the past two days to use only French beef in the prepared meals they sell in the country. Italy on Saturday registered its first case, with horse DNA discovered in pre-packaged lasagna from a Bologna-based food-maker, Primia. The meat was in the bolognese sauce.

The horse-meat scandal began with tons of horse meat from Romanian abattoirs exported to France, where it was processed into ready-made meals. Romanian authorities said the meat was correctly labeled as horse and that the fraud occurred further down the food-supply chain.

Under current European rules, companies are supposed to indicate the kind of meat in prepared foods, but not its origins. Hollande, speaking at the French Agricultural Salon, said he expected it would take several months to persuade other countries to go along with the rule change.

Spanish duke questioned in fraud case

PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain - Protesters jeered the Spanish king’s son-in-law before he was questioned Saturday by a judge about allegations he and a business partner funneled away millions of dollars through fraudulent deals.

Inaki Urdangarin, who has not been charged with a crime, made his way into a courthouse in Palma de Mallorca amid tense street scenes, where a contingent of about 170 police kept several hundred protesters away from the building. Urdangarin, married to 75-year-old King Juan Carlos’ second daughter, Princess Cristina, has denied any wrongdoing.

The Duke of Palma, the title held by Urdangarin, had been called to answer questions privately at a courthouse about whether he used his high-profile status to secure lucrative deals for a nonprofit foundation he ran and then fraudulently diverted money for personal gain.

Judge Jose Castro questioned Urdangarin about three purported offenses against the Treasury, including corporate-tax fraud related to his foundation and matters linked to his personal income tax returns. Under Spanish law, the court will decide whether the prosecution has adequate evidence to file charges against the duke.

Front Section, Pages 7 on 02/24/2013

Upcoming Events