World Briefs

THAILAND Police in Bangkok say they have identified a man whose body parts were found floating in the city’s Chao Phraya River as a Spanish consultant, surnamed David, and also have identified suspects in his killing. Police said yesterday that they are gathering more evidence and searching for the suspects, and believe they can solve the case within 48 hours.

NORTH KOREAN leader Kim Jong Un presides over a meeting of senior ruling party officials aimed at rooting out corruption and abuses of power ahead of a major congress to be held in May, state media report, calling the gathering the first of its kind. Meanwhile, China, Northeast Asia is reacting to the latest ‘act of war’ threat from Kim.

AUSTRALIA A newborn Down syndrome baby left by his Australian biological father with his poor surrogate mother in Thailand was one of several cases of surrogate children abandoned because of defects, an expert tells a parliamentary inquiry.

GERMANY More than 91,000 asylum seekers arrived in Germany last month, the government said yesterday, underlining the pressure the country faces to diminish the influx of migrants.

ITALY Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has expressed his sadness at the condition of Michael Schumacher, two years after the former F1 champion was seriously injured in a skiing accident. Montezemolo was asked at a media event yesterday in Milan if he had any news about Schumacher. “Unfortunately it’s not good, it’s not as good as one would have hoped,” he said.

SWITZERLAND Credit Suisse is cutting roughly 4,000 jobs to reduce costs after announcing a massive pre-tax loss in the fourth quarter that includes “substantial charges which are not reflective of our underlying business performance,” the bank said.

WIKILEAKS A U.N. official says Sweden was informed last month of a U.N. panel’s decision on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. While the panel hasn’t officially released its decision, Sweden’s foreign ministry said yesterday that the advisory group had concluded that Assange has been a victim of “arbitrary” detention at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London where he sought refuge in 2012.

ZIKA Uruguay’s team director says “we have no qualms” about playing a World Cup qualifier next month in Recife, Brazil, the city at the center of the outbreak of the Zika virus. Uruguay will face Brazil on March 24 in the northeastern city.