IHT Quick Read: March 8 NEWS Ignoring threats of retaliation, the United Nations Security Council ordered new economic sanctions against North Korea on Thursday for its third nuclear test last month, unanimously approving a resolution that the United States negotiated with China, the North's greatest protector. Rick Gladstone reports from New York, and David E. Sanger from Washington. Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister and dominant political figure in Italy, was convicted and sentenced on Thursday to one year in prison for his role in the publication of a wiretapped conversation in a newspaper his family owns. Elisabetta Povoledo reports from Rome. Malaysian security forces killed 31 Filipino gunmen on the island of Borneo, officials said Thursday, and the government rejected calls by the United Nations for an end to the fighting. Floyd Whaley reports from Manila. Uhuru Kenyatta surged ahead in the race for Kenya's president and stayed out front as the margin narrowed early on Friday. Mr. Kenyatta, the son of Kenya's first president, is accused of using a vast fortune to bankroll death squads that slaughtered women and children. The relentless exodus of Syrians fleeing two years of increasingly violent conflict pushed the number of refugees in neighboring countries past the million mark on Wednesday, the United Nations Refugee Agency said, warning that resources for helping them are dangerously thin. Nick Cumming-Bruce reports from Geneva. The installation of a new Orthodox patriarch last month served as one more reminder that Bulgaria had never really thrown off the inheritance of 40 years of rigid Communist rule. Matthew Brunwasser reports from Sofia. Valli Annamalai, the head of the Mother and Child Welfare Project in Tamil Nadu, has seen progress in her effort to end the area's reputation as one of the worst places for "gendercide" in India. Kamala Thiagarajan reports from Usilampatti, India. The head of communications for the troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena died late Wednesday in what the police say appears to have been a suicide. Jack Ewing and Gaia Pianigiani report. In leaving the benchmark interest rate at 0.75 percent, the European Central Bank chose not to react to political instability in Italy and rising inflation, and wait for more urgent signs of slump. Jack Ewing reports from Frankfurt. ARTS The Bolshoi Ballet soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko on Thursday tried to deflect blame for the January attack on Sergei Filin, the company's artistic director. Mr. Dmitrichenko said he had agreed that an ex-convict acquaintance would "knock him around," but that he was unaware that the man planned to douse Mr. Filin's face with sulfuric acid, jeopardizing his eyesight. SPORTS Just over a month ago, Les Bleus were being talked about as a potential Six Nations rugby champion, but now they are 0-3. Emma Stoney reports from Wellington. With its leading scorer suspended and in the stands, Paris Saint-Germain lacked personality and had to come back to snatch a 1-1 draw with Valencia and advance in the Champions League.