World briefs

CHINA-FRANCE French cultural officials say 15 pieces of art have been stolen from a Chinese museum south of Paris, including a replica crown of the King of Siam given to France’s emperor in the mid-19th century. The Culture Ministry says the break-in before dawn Sunday at the Chinese Museum at Fontainebleau Castle was over in less than seven minutes. Police are investigating.

N KOREA fires two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea and warned of “merciless strikes” against its enemies as allies Seoul and Washington launched annual military drills Pyongyang claims are preparation for a northward invasion. North Korea regularly conducts such test firings of missiles, rockets and artillery, and they are often timed to express the country’s dissatisfaction with actions by Washington and Seoul. Yesterday was the start of military drills that will run until the end of April.

MYANMAR Truckloads of police have prevented hundreds of student protesters from marching to Myanmar’s biggest city to push for educational reform. Students have been marching from Myanmar’s second-largest city of Mandalay to Yangon, the old capital, since January, demanding changes to an education law that they say inhibits academic freedom. More on p14

RUSSIA The investigation into the killing of Boris Nemtsov, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin who was gunned down not far from the Kremlin, faced conflicting reports yesterday about possible surveillance footage of his slaying. No suspects have been arrested since Nemtsov was shot dead Friday night on a Moscow bridge, a slaying that came just hours after a radio interview in which he denounced Putin’s “mad, aggressive policy” in Ukraine.
NEPAL A Canadian tourist with several previous child sex convictions has been sentenced to seven years in prison in Nepal for sexually abusing a minor boy.

UKRAINE’s president signed a decree yesterday opening the way to a formal request for international peacekeepers to be stationed in eastern regions where government forces are battling Russian-backed separatists. President Petro Poroshenko’s office gave no specific details on the mission’s composition or any timetable for it but Russia is strongly against the idea.

USA-ISRAEL Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) insisted yesterday that his plans to address Congress are not aimed at disrespecting President Barack Obama, even as he assailed the U.S. leader’s bid for a nuclear deal with Iran as a threat to his country’s survival.

USA With a partial shutdown of the Homeland Security Department possible at week’s end, House Speaker John Boehner said the House wants to enter talks with the Senate on a final bill funding the agency. But Senate Democrats aren’t interested.

NAMIBIAN President Hifikepunye Pohamba (pictured) has won the 2014 Ibrahim Prize for African leadership, the first African leader deemed worthy of the honor since 2011. While Africa’s dictators and long-serving rulers garner much attention and news coverage, the USD5 million prize seeks to give public recognition and a monetary reward to leaders who rule well on the continent.