IN BRIEF (Page 7)

China

Dalai Lama confab opposed

China voiced strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition on Friday to some United States lawmakers' meeting with the Dalai Lama. "We urge the US Congress to honor its commitment that recognizes Tibet as part of China and does not support so-called Tibet independence," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. "According to the Dalai's words and deeds in the last decades, it's clear that he is a political exile who has been engaged in secessionist activities under the cloak of religion," Qin said.

Ethiopia

Panel to probe alleged abuses

The African Union on Friday announced the team for the Commission of Enquiry mandated to investigate human rights violations and other abuses committed during the armed conflict in South Sudan. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, chairperson of the AU Commission, told reporters at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that the commission has five members.

United Kingdom

Bomb found at post office

A letter bomb found at a post office in Northern Ireland was addressed to a prison, Britain's Sky News reported Friday, citing unnamed sources. The device was found in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and is believed to have been addressed to Maghaberry Prison in Lisburn. Another suspicious package spotted at a post office in the town is also thought to have been addressed to the prison, according to Sky News.

West Bank

Abbas spurns shared capital

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said there is "no way" he will recognize Israel as a Jewish state and accept a Palestinian capital in a portion of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, rebuffing what Palestinians fear will be key elements of a US peace proposal. Abbas' comments signaled that the gaps between him and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remain wide after seven months of mediation efforts by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Turkey

Govt may ban social media

Turkey's embattled prime minister has warned that his government could ban popular social media networks YouTube and Facebook after a number of online leaks added momentum to a spiraling corruption scandal. Recep Tayyip Erdogan's proposals to tighten his government's grip on the Internet has generated criticism at home and abroad about rights in the EU-hopeful country.

Xinhua-AP-AFP-Reuters

(China Daily 03/08/2014 page7)