IN BRIEF (Page 12)

China

Iraqi PM to make first visit

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will visit China for the first time from July 17 to 21 as guest of his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Tuesday.

Top Chinese leaders will meet him to discuss future practical cooperation between China and Iraq. "China attaches great importance to this historical friendship and supports Iraqi reconstruction projects. China will continue offering aid to Iraq to the full extent of its capacity," Hong said.

Syria

Clinton blasts Assad's rule

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has lost legitimacy and is "not indispensable", US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday as tension soared over an assault by Assad loyalists on the US and French embassies in Damascus.

Clinton condemned the Syrian attacks and said Washington did not believe the long-time Syrian ruler would follow through on his promises to reform in the face of escalating protests against his rule. "From our perspective, he has lost legitimacy, he has failed to deliver on the promises he's made, he has sought and accepted aid from the Iranians as to how to repress his own people," Clinton told reporters in an appearance with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Washington.

The Philippines

6.2-magnitude quake reported

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake has struck off Negros Island in the Philippines, but there are no reports of injuries or damage.

The quake, which struck at 20:47 local time on Monday, had its epicenter 126 kilometers west-northwest of the city of Dumaguete on Negros Island and 576 km south-southeast of Manila, the Philippine capital, at a depth of 19 km, according to the US Geological survey.

The quake was followed by a 5.1-magnitude aftershock.

Pakistan

Missile strikes kill at least 38

Three suspected US missile strikes in northwestern Pakistan in less than 12 hours killed at least 38 alleged militants, an unusually heavy barrage at a time when relations between the two countries are badly strained, Pakistani intelligence officials said on Tuesday.

The strikes follow the Obama administration's announcement that it is suspending more than one-third of US military aid to Pakistan until disagreements are worked out. The attacks indicate the White House has no intention of stopping the unmanned drone program even though the attacks have increasingly caused tension with Pakistan.

In the latest strike, suspected US missiles hit a house in Dremala village in the South Waziristan tribal area early Tuesday, killing at least eight alleged militants, officials said.

Bangladesh

Truck accident leaves 44 dead

Many schools in southeastern Bangladesh were closed on Tuesday as authorities and families mourned the deaths of 44 mostly schoolboys when the truck they were riding from a soccer match crashed into a canal.

Police launched a manhunt for the driver who fled immediately after Monday's crash.

The victims' relatives were holding prayers at their homes and mosques. They were visited by two senior Cabinet ministers and one of them promised jobs for the impoverished families.

China Daily-Reuters-AP

(China Daily 07/13/2011 page12)