Two suspects linked to Paris attacks arrested

VIENNA • Austrian police have arrested two people with suspected links to the Paris attacks. The Kronen-Zeitung daily reported that two French citizens posing as refugees entered Austria in October, together with members of a terrorist cell who carried out the Nov 13 attacks in the French capital .

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

First woman to lead West Point cadets

WASHINGTON • The Pentagon has, for the first time, appointed a woman to oversee cadets at the prestigious US Military Academy at West Point. Brigadier-General Diana Holland, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will assume her position as the 76th cadets commandant next month.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Big companies asked to help Great Barrier Reef

CANBERRA • The Australian government has put out a call for wealthy Australian companies to "sponsor" the Great Barrier Reef, as part of a new programme to boost the world-class attraction's health. The government will offer sponsorship plans - ranging from US$1 million (S$1.4 million) to US$5 million - that allow companies to use the reef as a part of their branding. The money will fund relief projects.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Jailed blogger given human rights award

STRASBOURG (France) • Ms Ensaf Haidar, the wife of jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, yesterday accepted the European Parliament's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize on his behalf. She urged Arab countries to reject theocratic diktats and tolerate differing views. Badawi, 31, was arrested in 2012. He was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for insulting Islam.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE