IN BRIEF (Page 11)

India

Countries swap nuclear lists

India and Pakistan exchanged lists of their nuclear facilities on Wednesday as part of a 1988 pact that bars them from attacking each other's installations. The exchange, which took place in New Delhi and Islamabad, has been held each New Year's Day since 1992.

Nepal

14 dead as buses crash into river

Two buses crashed into rivers in western Nepal in separate accidents that killed eight Nepalese and six Indian tourists. Administrator Yagyaraj Bohara said one of the buses skidded off a road and fell into a river early Wednesday at Baskanda, a village 700 kilometers northwest of Katmandu. In addition to the deaths, 27 people were injured.

United States

US objects to prisoner releases

The United States wants Afghanistan to stop the release of 88 prisoners from an Afghan jail because they pose a serious threat to security, US officials said on Wednesday. The US only recently transferred the prison at Bagram to Afghan control after it had become a serious source of tension with the government.

Lebanon

Head of militant group arrested

Lebanese troops arrested the leader of a group linked to al-Qaida that claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing at the Iranian embassy in November, the defense minister said on Wednesday. Maged al-Maged, the "emir" of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, "was arrested by the intelligence services of the Lebanese army in Beirut", Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn said.

Reuters-AF-AFP

(China Daily 01/02/2014 page11)