Nobel widow leaves China after 8 years’ house arrest

Beijing: China has allowed the widow of Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo to be freed from house arrest and leave for Berlin, ending an eight-year ordeal that drove the poet into depression and drew intense criticism of Beijing’s human rights record. The release of Liu Xia, who has never been charged with any crime, comes just days before the one-year anniversary of the death of dissident Liu Xiaobo while he was serving a prison sentence for inciting subversion. ap

600-kg crocodile caught after 10-year search 

Canberra: Park rangers in Australia’s Northern Territory have caught one of the region’s biggest crocodiles after a decade-long hunt. The male saltwater crocodile measuring 4.71 m in length and weighing in at 600 kg was trapped by the rangers in the Katherine River, 320 km south of Darwin, on Monday, reports Xinhua news agency. Another 2.37-m crocodile was also caught in the river on the same day, approximately 60 km downstream of the town of 6,000 people. IANS

Sharif, Maryam put on exit control list  

Lahore: The Pakistani government on Tuesday placed the names of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz on the exit control list (ECL) to prevent them from flying abroad after their return to the country on Friday. The move came days after the accountability court in Islamabad convicted Sharif and Maraym in the Avenfield properties corruption case. PTI