IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Syria

Rocket fire claims 12

Army rocket fire on a central Syrian village on Wednesday killed at least 12 people, including women and children, a watchdog said, as warplanes attacked rebel enclaves near central Qusayr. Aircraft also struck Karam Huweimed and Tariq al-Bab in the northern city of Aleppo, as well as a rebel-held town nearby, observers said.

Pakistan

Army evacuates quake victims

Hundreds of Pakistani soldiers joined the effort to rescue victims of a deadly earthquake, evacuating 16 of the more seriously injured by helicopter, the military said on Wednesday. Tuesday's magnitude-7.8 earthquake was centered in southeastern Iran but also hit Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province.

Afghanistan

Attacks leave at least 24 dead

Roadside bombs and insurgent attacks killed at least 24 people in five separate attacks across Afghanistan as violence steadily rises during this year's spring fighting season, officials said on Wednesday.

India

16 injured in 'terror' blast

A top Indian official said a blast in the city of Bangalore that wounded 16 people on Wednesday, including 11 policemen, was "an act of terror" designed to disrupt upcoming state elections. The explosion appeared to have been planted on a motorbike near the office of the Bharatiya Janata party, police said.

New Zealand

Lawmakers OK gay marriage

Hundreds of jubilant gay-rights advocates celebrated at New Zealand's Parliament on Wednesday as the country become the 13th in the world and the first in the Asia-Pacific region to legalize same-sex marriage.

AFP-AP

(China Daily 04/18/2013 page12)