WORLD BRIEFS

CHINA: 12 dead in clash with Uighurs

Twelve people were reported killed in rioting Tuesday on the outskirts of the westernmost city of Kashgar, the scene of frequent clashes between the Uighurs and the Han Chinese, who have increasingly moved to the remote area. Xinhua news agency said rioters with knives staged an attack Tuesday evening in Yecheng, a Silk Road oasis in the Taklamakan desert. Uighur exiles frequently dispute official accounts in the region.

EGYPT: Judges quit trial of 43

All three judges pulled out of the trial of 43 pro-democracy workers, including 16 Americans, a court official said, throwing the case that has ripped U.S.-Egypt relations into question. The 43 are charged with using illegal foreign funds to foment the unrest of the past year. The groups and the United States deny the charges, and U.S. officials have hinted that foreign aid to Egypt is in jeopardy. Lead Judge Mohammed Shoukry said Tuesday that "the court felt uneasiness" in handling the case, the court official said. The trial would need to be restarted with a new panel of judges. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told two Senate panels Tuesday that the United States and Egypt are "in very intensive discussions about finding a solution" to the situation.

SOMALIA: Danes overcome pirates

The Danish navy intercepted a cargo vessel Somali pirates had hijacked in the Indian Ocean, freeing 16 of its crew members, but two others died, an official said Tuesday in Copenhagen. Seventeen pirates were captured in the operation Monday off the Somalia coast. The pirates had used the cargo ship as a mother ship from which they sailed in smaller boats to attack other vessels. The dead were an Iranian and a Pakistani. The freed crew members also were from Iran or Pakistan. The Danish ship HDMS Absalon stopped the cargo ship when it tried to move away from the coast.

KENYA: Aid flown to stricken ship

Helicopters ferried food, phones and flashlights Tuesday to more than 1,000 passengers and crew stuck aboard a disabled ship that was being towed to the Seychelles through waters prowled by pirates. Those aboard the Costa Allegra, a sister ship of the cruise liner that struck a reef off Italy last month, faced more stifling days and nights before the vessel docks. The stricken liner was expected to reach the main Seychelles island of Mahe on Thursday, the Italian cruise operator said. A generator room fire disabled the ship.