IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Switzerland

Multiple Sino-US meetings set

China and the United States will have a series of important meetings and visits in 2014, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday. Wang was meeting US Secretary of State John Kerry in Switzerland. China hopes that Beijing and Washington can maintain the positive momentum of high-level strategic dialogues, deepen cooperation in all fields, resolve differences and sensitive issues, and push forward bilateral relations, Wang said. Kerry praised China's efforts to move the Iran negotiations and resolve the Syrian issue.

Egypt

Temporary PM backs army chief

Egyptian interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi said on Thursday he backs General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for president, one of the highest-level endorsements for a widely expected presidential bid by the army chief. Sisi, who deposed president Mohammed Morsi in July after mass protests against his yearlong rule, has yet to announce his candidacy for an election that could happen as soon as March or April.

South Africa

Platinum miners go on strike

Tens of thousands of platinum miners in South Africa went on strike on Thursday, demanding higher wages in a protest that is disrupting one of the country's major industries. Protesters from the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union sang and danced outside one mine shaft in Rustenburg, the center of major platinum operations.

United States

Snowstorm loses strength

The northeast US dug out from a snowstorm that had grounded flights, shuttered schools and left bitter cold in its wake, while a blizzard swept across parts of Atlantic Canada. The blizzard in Canada closed schools and government offices Wednesday and disrupted air travel throughout the region.

Italy

Berlusconi in new investigation

Milan prosecutors have opened a new investigation against Silvio Berlusconi over accusations he corrupted witnesses in a trial in which he was convicted of paying for sex with a minor. The decision to open an investigation, announced on Thursday, adds to a long series of legal problems hanging over the leader of Italy's main center-right party, who has been banned from parliament over a separate tax-fraud conviction.

South Sudan

Govt, rebels set to sign pact

South Sudan's government and rebels are scheduled to sign a cease-fire on Thursday, the mediator said, after more than five weeks of fighting that has divided Africa's newest nation and brought it to the brink of civil war.

China Daily-AP-Reuters

(China Daily 01/24/2014 page11)