WORLD BRIEFS

EGYPT: A younger defense chief

With the surprisingly easy removal of top brass, President Mohammed Morsi tapped into discontent among younger officers who apparently grew frustrated with the aging generals. The new defense minister, Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, 57, is 20 years younger than his sidelined predecessor and was the youngest member of the council of generals who ruled Egypt for 17 months after the fall of Hosni Mubarak. The inside maneuvering that led to the removal of the man who led the military for 20 years, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi and his chief of staff, remain obscure. The changes have been publicly depicted as a consensus agreement, but there are signs it may have been in effect a palace coup by Morsi.

IRAQ: Three bombs kill 10

Three bomb blasts shortly before sunset Wednesday killed 10 people north of Baghdad. The first bomb went off in Baqouba, 35 miles to the northeast, killing two civilians and a police officer, and wounding five people. Minutes later, a car bomb exploded at the main market in Muqdadiyah, 60 miles to the north. A second blast struck as police arrived. The toll for both bombings in the town was seven killed and 26 wounded.

ECUADOR: Britain accused on Assange

The government said Wednesday that Britain had threatened to storm its embassy in London to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said Ecuador would announce a decision on Assange's asylum request Thursday. Assange took refuge in the embassy on June 19 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces questioning for alleged sexual misconduct. Britain's Foreign Office said it had "drawn the Ecuadorians' attention to relevant provisions of our law," including rules that govern the status of diplomatic missions.