IN BRIEF (Page 7)

China Daily | Updated: 2014-02-15 08:03

Switzerland

Syria talks to enter 3rd round

International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi plans to take Syrian talks into a third round, an opposition official said on Friday, as negotiations neared the end of a second round with no sign of progress. "Brahimi just told us the talks will continue, and there will be a third round, but he did not set a date," said opposition negotiator Ahmad Jakal.

Syria

Car bomb kills at least 18

A car bomb killed at least 18 people in a town in southern Syria on Friday, international observers reported. The bomb went off near a mosque in the town of al-Yadouda near the border with Jordan. Car bombs have frequently been deployed as a weapon in the three-year Syrian conflict.

Russia

Nation blasts EU for interference

Russia accused the European Union on Friday of seeking to create a "sphere of influence" on its borders by pressing Ukraine to choose closer ties with the Western bloc at the expense of relations with Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sharpened Russian allegations of Western interference in its neighbor's turbulent affairs at a joint news conference following talks with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Reuters-AP

(China Daily 02/15/2014 page7)