WORLD BRIEFS

MALI: Talk of March withdrawal

As forces from France and Chad secured a key northern bastion, the city of Kidal, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius suggested French troops may start pulling out as early as next month, handing over to a still-developing African force. The potential withdrawal, floated by Fabius in a newspaper interview published Tuesday night, came as French aircraft and troops were targeting suspected hideouts of Islamist fighters in the sparsely populated Saharan desert.

CHINA: Rural banker's realty empire

As a bank officer from a poor rural region, Gong Ai'ai is an unlikely property baron. In a country where middle class workers can struggle to afford a single apartment in major cities, Gong is accused of amassing a real estate empire worth at least $160 million. Her alleged secret: corruption, kickbacks and multiple fake identities. The stunning wealth she is accused of amassing, 45 properties in three cities, and the audacity with which she is accused of doing it has touched a nerve with a Chinese public long numb to tales of rampant corruption among the nation's official bureaucracy. Gong, arrested Monday on suspicion of forging official documents, is accused of misusing her power while working for the county-backed Shenmu Rural Commercial Bank to give loans to mine operators in return for cash or shares in the mines. Gong is accused of using that money and at least three fake national identity cards obtained with the help of corrupt police to fund her real estate purchases.

SOUTH PACIFIC: Tsunami warning in 8.0 quake

An earthquake has generated a tsunami that may be destructive near the epicenter, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Sea level readings indicate a tsunami formed after the 8.0 quake Wednesday near the Solomon Islands, it said. The tsunami warning is in effect for the Solomons, Vanuatu, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Kosrae, Fiji, Kiribati, Wallis and Futuna. A watch is in effect for American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand and eastern Indonesia.