IN BRIEF (Page 8)

Italy

Coalition idea ruled out

Italian center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani on Friday ruled out forming a coalition with Silvio Berlusconi after this week's inconclusive election. In an interview with the daily La Repubblica, Bersani, whose group holds a majority in the lower house but not in the Senate, said Berlusconi had "no concept of responsibility beyond his own interests".

Iraq

Restaurant boat sinking claims 8

A crowded floating restaurant loaded with dozens of guests sank in the Tigris River in central Baghdad late on Thursday, leaving at least eight people dead and several others missing. Officials said the tragedy appeared to be an accident, with police saying the boat was over capacity when it went down.

United States

WikiLeaks soldier faces judge

A US Army private accused of slipping secret documents to the WikiLeaks website faced questions on Thursday from a judge weighing his offer to plead guilty to some of the charges. Private First Class Bradley Manning took the witness stand before military judge Colonel Denise Lind in a pre-trial hearing.

New Zealand

Airline 'sorry' for refusing request

Jetstar apologized on Friday after refusing to allow the grieving mother of a New Zealand man killed in a shark attack to change her flight on compassionate grounds. Jeanette Strange was already booked to travel from the capital to Auckland next week but tried to move the flight forward on Wednesday after learning her son Adam had been fatally mauled by a shark.

Vietnam

Hanoi to limit use of cash

The State Bank of Vietnam is going to submit a decree to the government for approval, under which it will limit the use of cash for large transactions, said director of the bank's payment department Bui Quang Tien on Friday. The bank's move aims to weaken the black market economy by making commercial transactions more transparent, said the bank official.

Poland

Women save runaway bus

Two women traveling on a bus in northern Poland grabbed the wheel and brought it under control after it crossed to the opposite lane when the driver passed out. Footage of the incident on Thursday near the town of Kiezmark shows the driver sway off his seat. A woman screaming "Can anyone drive?" grabs the wheel, and another woman helps her.

AP-Reuters-AFP-Xinhua

(China Daily 03/02/2013 page8)