World briefs

USA Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie revealed yesterday that she has undergone more preventive surgery, having her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed in hopes of reducing her risk of cancer. Writing in the New York Times, the filmmaker and philanthropist said that a recent blood test showed a possible early sign of cancer. The news came as a blow to the star, as she has already had a double mastectomy.

CHINA’s manufacturing fell to the lowest level in nearly a year as new orders shrank, according to a report that underscored the weakening outlook for the world’s second biggest economy. More on p10

JAPANESE government auditors say the operator of the destroyed Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant has wasted more than a third of the USD1.6 billion in taxpayer money allocated for cleaning up the plant.

PAKISTAN needs short-range “tactical” nuclear weapons to deter arch-rival India, a top adviser to its government says, dismissing concerns it could increase the risk of a nuclear war.

AFGHANISTAN Thousands march through the Afghan capital demanding justice for a woman who was beaten to death by a mob after being falsely accused of burning a Quran. More on p12

MYANMAR Police reject a lawsuit filed by two Buddhist monks against Myanmar’s home minister and police chief, saying they are protected by law. More on p12

SYRIA The Nusra Front, Syria’s al-Qaida affiliate, is quietly consolidating power in territory stretching from the Turkish border to central and southern Syria as the Islamic State group gets most of the world’s attention.

USA Utah became the only state to allow firing squads for executions when Gov. Gary Herbert signed a law Monday approving the method for use when no lethal injection drugs are available, even though he has called it “a little bit gruesome.” The Republican governor has said Utah is a capital punishment state and needs a backup execution method in case a shortage of the drugs persists.

VENEZUELA  Doctors say that the economic crisis plaguing Venezuela revived a medical practice rarely seen in developed countries since the 1970s: the radical mastectomy. With radiotherapy machines in short supply, doctors are turning to the disfiguring surgery to save breast cancer patients’ lives.

UK Researchers have found fossil remains of a previously unknown species of crocodile-like “super salamander” that roamed the Earth more than 200 million years ago. University of Edinburgh researchers say the species discovered in Portugal was among the Earth’s top predators.