IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Venezuela

VP meets with nation's leaders

Visiting Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao held talks on Monday with Venezuelan leaders, voicing the hope to advance their bilateral strategic partnership and cooperation. During a meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Li said China-Venezuela ties have seen overall and fast development since the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 1974, especially after the two nations forged a strategic partnership of common development in 2001. China and Venezuela have always been supported each other on issues concerning their core interests, Li said.

Myanmar

Evacuation gets underway

Authorities in Myanmar struggled on Wednesday to evacuate tens of thousands of people, most of them Rohingya Muslims, before a cyclone reaches camps in low-lying regions that have been their home since ethnic and religious unrest last year. Cyclone Mahasen has already killed at least seven people and displaced 3,881 in Sri Lanka.

Indonesia

Pilots criticized over Bali crash

Indonesia's largest low-cost carrier, Lion Air, has been criticized after a preliminary investigation into last month's Boeing 737 crash off Bali found a young, second-in-command pilot was at the controls at a "critical time". The National Transportation Safety Committee said in a report that the budget carrier should immediately implement a number of safety measures related to landing procedures.

France

Paris to better protect tourists

Paris police said on Wednesday they will deploy more officers to protect tourists against pickpockets and launch an awareness campaign to fight fake charity organizations targeting visitors. The efforts come in the wake of several incidents that have tarnished the image of Paris.

Nigeria

Police uncover 'baby' factory

Nigerian police on Wednesday said they had found six pregnant teenage girls in a raid on a house and arrested three people suspected of planning to sell their babies. It was the second so-called baby factory uncovered in a week in the West African nation.

India

Man accused of rape critically ill

A defendant on trial over a fatal gang rape in New Delhi in December is critically ill after being attacked in prison, his lawyer said on Wednesday, weeks after the main accused died in the same jail. Vinay Sharma was rushed to the state-run Lok Nayak Hospital in New Delhi on Tuesday with chest injuries after he was assaulted in Tihar Jail.

Xinhua-Reuters-AFP

(China Daily 05/16/2013 page11)