Briefly

CHINA

Vanuatu, Solomon Islands PMs to pay visit

At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang, Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele will pay official visits to China, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Friday. During a six-day tour starting on Sunday, Salwai will exchange views with Chinese leaders on the China-Vanuatu relationship and important issues of common concern, and jointly draw a blueprint for bilateral ties. The trip starting on Tuesday will be Manele's first visit to China since he assumed office in May. Mao told a regular news briefing that China would work with the Solomon Islands to strengthen strategic communication, expand result-oriented cooperation and continuously bring forward bilateral ties.

UNITED STATES

3 people killed during July 4 celebrations

Three people were killed and eight others injured, three critically, when a pickup truck drove into a group celebrating the Fourth of July holiday in New York City, authorities said. A Ford F-150 came down a street "at a high rate of speed" shortly before 9 pm. The truck went through an intersection and past a stop sign, drove onto the sidewalk and into Corlears Hook Park on Manhattan's Lower East Side, New York Police Department Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said.

SOUTH KOREA

Man gets sentence for stabbing party leader

A man who stabbed South Korea's opposition leader in the neck earlier this year was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday, court officials said. The knife-wielding man attacked Lee Jae-myung, head of the liberal Democratic Party, South Korea's biggest political party, in January after approaching him for an autograph at an event in the southeastern city of Busan. After being detained by police, he told investigators that he wanted to kill Lee to prevent him from becoming president. The court said both the accused and prosecutors have one week to appeal.

Agencies - China Daily