WORLD BRIEFS

EGYPT: 11 killed protesting rulers

The worst violence in months escalated the confrontation between political forces and the ruling military ahead of a landmark presidential election, as suspected army supporters attacked mainly Islamist protesters outside the Defense Ministry on Wednesday, sparking clashes that left at least 11 people dead. Political parties swiftly blamed the generals for the bloodshed and vowed the election must go ahead as planned to ensure the military's removal from power. Egypt has been plagued by sporadic bouts of deadly violence since the ouster of longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak last year.

BRITAIN: Spy's death still unsolved

Even after a coroner's verdict, it remains a mystery: A naked spy found dead in a locked bag, lurid details of a kinky sex life and allegations someone in Britain's spy agencies may have been involved in his death. A coroner ruled Wednesday that another person was probably involved in Gareth Williams' death, putting more pressure on police to uncover the killer and continue to investigate possibilities that include whether he could have died in a sex game gone awry or in a more sinister scenario that involved his counterterrorism work. Although Coroner Fiona Wilcox said it was unlikely that the death of Williams, 31, will ever be "satisfactorily explained," she said the spy probably died either by suffocation or poisoning in a "criminally meditated act." Williams, described as an introverted math genius, worked for the secret eavesdropping service GCHQ. But he was attached to the MI6 foreign spy agency. The body was found in the bathtub at his London apartment on Aug. 16, 2010, a few days after he returned from a trip to the United States.

IRELAND: Cardinal won't quit in scandal

The leader of Ireland's 4 million Catholics said Wednesday he wouldn't resign after a BBC documentary accused him of helping to cover up child abuse committed by a pedophile priest who went on to assault scores of other children. Cardinal Sean Brady said the documentary exaggerated his role in his 1975 interviews of two teenage boys abused by priest Brendan Smyth and it was the responsibility of Smyth's religious order leaders to act.