IN BRIEF

Briefly

China

'Nuke stockpile move positive'

China said on Tuesday that Japan's agreeing to turn over sensitive nuclear material of potential use in bombs to the United States was a step in the right direction, but that it had other material it still needed to hand over. "We appreciate and support the United States' hard efforts to collect sensitive nuclear materials from overseas," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "Japan still stores a large amount of other sensitive nuclear material, which is still far in excess of its own actual normal needs," it added.

Thailang

30 people killed in bus crash

A double-decker bus carrying municipal workers on a field trip in western Thailand plunged off a steep road and into a ravine, killing at least 30 people and injuring 22 others, officials said on Tuesday. The accident on Monday night was the latest fatal crash on a mountain road in Tak province, known for its treacherous dips and turns, where 300 accidents occurred last year, said provincial governor Suriya Prasatbunditya. The road is frequented by buses and trucks traveling to and from the border with Myanmar.

Egypt

Brotherhood leader on trial

The leader of Egypt's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and 682 others went on trial on Tuesday on charges including murder, their lawyer said, in another blow to supporters of former president Mohammed Morsi. The trial of Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie and the others came a day after the same court in Minya province condemned 529 members of the Islamist group to death.

Kuwait

Summit to reject 'Jewish state'

Arab leaders meeting Tuesday in Kuwait were expected to back a Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, an Israeli demand that threatens to derail peace talks. The summit stresses a "categorical rejection" of the demand for recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, according to a draft statement endorsed by foreign ministers. The statement also rejects "all pressures exerted on the Palestinian leadership" to force it into agreeing.

Sudan

151 rebels slain in Darfur fighting

Sudan said a pro-government militia has killed 151 rebels in clashes this week in the country's Darfur region. The semi-official Sudanese Media Center said the rebels were killed in a counterinsurgency campaign. It quotes militia commander Abbas Abdel-Aziz as saying on Tuesday that several commanders of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement were among those killed. The United Nations said earlier that nearly 100,000 people have fled their homes in Darfur because of violence.

AP-AFP-Reuters

(China Daily 03/26/2014 page11)