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Thai protesters lay siege to ministries
Bangkok, January 14
Anti-government protesters rally outside the government complex on the outskirts of Bangkok on Tuesday Thailand's embattled Premier Yingluck Shinwatra today rejected protester's demands for her resignation even as the opposition marched on several state buildings.
Anti-government protesters rally outside the government complex on the outskirts of Bangkok on Tuesday. AP/pti

Egyptians vote on new constitution; 12 killed
Cairo, January 14
People queue up to cast their vote in Cairo Giza district on Tuesday Egyptians voted for the first time since the military ousted president Mohamed Morsi on Tuesday in a constitutional referendum that may set the stage for a presidential bid by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. In a reminder of Islamist opposition to the army-led transition, a supporter of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood was shot dead during a protest near a polling station in Beni Suef, 110 km of Cairo.

People queue up to cast their vote in Cairo Giza district on Tuesday. afp

BRIEFLY

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Over 200 drown in ferry mishap in South Sudan
Juba, January 14
At least 200 South Sudanese civilians drowned today in a ferry accident on the White Nile river while fleeing fresh fighting in Malakal city, an army spokesman said.

Singapore to start hearing into Dec 8 riots
Singapore, January 14
A government-appointed committee will start public hearing from next month into Singapore's worst riots in 40 years, involving South Asian workers, mostly Indians.

Hollande admits ‘painful’ times
Paris, January 14
French President Francois Hollande, under fire over an alleged affair with an actress, on Tuesday said: "Everyone in their personal life can face trials. That's our case. These are painful moments. But I have one principle, and that is that personal life should be treated privately, respecting each person's intimacy."

	Thai protesters lay siege to ministries Threaten to blockade houses of PM, cabinet ministers if the caretaker govt doesn’t resign in few days Bangkok, January 14 Thailand's embattled Premier Yingluck Shinwatra today rejected protester's demands for her resignation even as the opposition marched on several state buildings and blocked key roads on the second day a shutdown of the capital Bangkok aimed at toppling her government. The protesters led by Demacrat Party Leader Suthep Thaugsuban, who has refused to negotiate with the government, also warned to lay siege to the houses of Premier Yingluck and her cabinet ministers if she did not resign. The protesters want Yingluck to resign to make way for an un-elected "people's council" that would oversee reforms. Yingluck dissolved Parliament and called snap polls on February 2 but the protesters have rejected to take part in the polls. Demonstrators today stopped officials from going to work at key ministries. Suthep, secretary general of the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) which is leading the protests, said in the next few days, the protesters would lay siege to all govt offices. "If the caretaker government still refused to comply with the PDRC's demand that they all resign, the PDRC would lift the protest to a higher level by blockading the houses of the prime minister and important cabinet members. If they still refused to budge, the protesters would take the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers into custody,” the Bangkok Post quoted Suthep as saying. Meanwhile, Yingluck refused to quit and said, "I've stressed many times I have a duty to act according to my responsibility after the dissolution of Parliament." "I'd like to say right now I am not holding on (to my position) but I have to keep political stability. I'm doing my duty to preserve democracy." — PTI
	Egyptians vote on new constitution; 12 killed Cairo, January 14 Egyptians voted for the first time since the military ousted president Mohamed Morsi on Tuesday in a constitutional referendum that may set the stage for a presidential bid by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. In a reminder of Islamist opposition to the army-led transition, a supporter of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood was shot dead during a protest near a polling station in Beni Suef, 110 km of Cairo. Small protests flared elsewhere. The new constitutional text strips out disputed Islamist language while strengthening state institutions that defied Morsi: the military, the police and the judiciary With no sign of a campaign against the constitution, the draft is expected to pass easily, backed by the many Egyptians who staged mass protests on June 30 against Morsi's rule before his ouster. Many voters cited a desire to bring stability to Egypt after three years of turmoil ignited by the historic uprising that felled veteran autocrat President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. — Reuters
	Over 200 drown in ferry mishap in South Sudan Juba, January 14 At least 200 South Sudanese civilians drowned today in a ferry accident on the White Nile river while fleeing fresh fighting in Malakal city, an army spokesman said. “The reports we have are of between 200 to 300 people, including women and children. The boat was overloaded,” army spokesman Philip Aguer told AFP. “They all drowned. They were fleeing the fighting that broke out again in Malakal." Battles raged in several sites in South Sudan today. Heavy fighting was reported in Malakal, state capital of oil-producing Upper Nile state, as rebel forces staged a fresh attack to seize the town, which has already changed hands twice since the conflict in South Sudan began onDeDDecember 15. — AFP Troubled times Nearly 300 civilians, including women and children, were on onboard a boat on the Nile river near Malakal city when it sank. Fresh fighting in the city led to the fleeing of civilians on the boat, which eventually became overloaded and sank, an army spokesman said.
	Singapore to start hearing into Dec 8 riots Singapore, January 14 A government-appointed committee will start public hearing from next month into Singapore's worst riots in 40 years, involving South Asian workers, mostly Indians. Some 400 South Asian workers were allegedly involved in the riots on December 8 night in Singapore's Little India precinct when an Indian worker was killed in a road accident. The Committee of Inquiry Secretariat today said it was inviting those who wish to make representations or give evidence to the inquiry to notify it by February 5. The public hearing will start on February 19. — PTI

Hollande admits ‘painful’ times

Paris, January 14
French President Francois Hollande, under fire over an alleged affair with an actress, on Tuesday said: "Everyone in their personal life can face trials. That's our case. These are painful moments. But I have one principle, and that is that personal life should be treated privately, respecting each person's intimacy."

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, he refused to discuss his personal life but said he would clarify the status of France's first lady before a visit to the United States next month. His official partner, Valerie Trierweiler, has been in hospital since last Friday. — Reuters

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4 Indian-origin men jailed for making fake notes
London: Four Indian-origin men have been jailed in the UK for counterfeiting currency with a face value of over 1.3 million pounds. Amrit Karra and his brother Prem Karra were each sentenced to seven years for using their printing business in Birmingham to produce the forgeries. Rajiv Kumar and Yash Mahey were jailed for four years at Birmingham Crown Courtfor counterfeiting between September 2011 and February 2012. PTI

US to hand over stolen sandstone sculptures to India
New York: The US will hand over to India three stolen Indian sandstone sculptures valued at more than $1.5 million, in a display of cooperation between the two countries following a month-long row over the arrest and indictment of an Indian diplomat here. PTI

A boat passes by submerged houses due to flooding brought about by heavy rains on the outskirts of Butuan City in Philippines on Tuesday. Twenty-two people have been killed in the southern Philippines’ region. afp

Britain's World War-I diaries go online
London: Britain is recruiting an army of historians to sift through more than 1.5 million pages of diaries written by World War I army officers, published online for the first time 100 years after the conflict began. PTI

Saudi beheads 2 Pakistanis for drug smuggling
Riyadh: Saudi authorities on Monday beheaded two Pakistanis for drug smuggling in the ultra-conservative kingdom's first executions of the year, the interior ministry said. PTI

Moscow expels US journalist
Washington: US journalist David Satter, a longtime critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has said he had been banned from the country in one of the first such expulsions since the Cold War. afp