Briefly world

In a surprise turnaround,a 33-year-old Malaysian Muslim woman who was sentenced to be caned for drinking beer in public has had her sentence reduced to community service,her father said on Thursday.

No caning for Malaysian woman who drank beer

KUALA LUMPUR: In a surprise turnaround,a 33-year-old Malaysian Muslim woman who was sentenced to be caned for drinking beer in public has had her sentence reduced to community service,her father said on Thursday. Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarnos caning sentence has been commuted,said Shukarnor Abdul Muttalib. Her father said Kartika received a letter from the Pahang state Islamic and Malay Culture Council informing her of Sultan of Pahangs decision to spare her the caning. Abdul Muttalib was quoted as saying by the Star online that the Sultan Ahmad Shah had agreed to commute the caning sentence and ordered Kartika to perform community service for three weeks.

China agrees to consider sanctions against Iran

UNITED NATIONS: After months of resisting the idea of new Security Council sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme,China appears to have taken a step closer to supporting them,agreeing to enter negotiations over the language of a new resolution to intensify international pressure on Iran. There was substantive discussion of the elements of a resolution,for the first time today, said a senior American official who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The next step,he said,would be when Chinese diplomats at the UN begin to hammer out a text. They have agreed to start, said Bernard Kouchner,the French Foreign Minister. Talking about the substance is a new step forward. Meanwhile,Chinas Foreign Ministry said that President Hu Jintao will attend a nuclear security summit meeting in Washington this on April 12 and 13.

Haitis founding document found in London

LONDON: On January 1,1804,Haiti casting off colonialism and slavery to become the worlds first Black republic. But its Declaration of Independence existed only in handwritten duplicate or in newspapers. Until now. A Canadian graduate student at Duke University,Julia Gaffield,has unearthed from the British National Archives the first known,government-issued version of Haitis founding document. The eight-page pamphlet,now visible online,gives scholars new insights into a period with few primary sources. That the document would be found in February,just weeks after the earthquake that killed so many; that its authenticity would be confirmed in time for the donor conference that could define Haitis future some see providence at work.