IN BRIEF (Page 11)

China

Hagel to visit next month

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will make a three-day visit to China beginning on April 7, in a bid to strengthen joint military ties with Beijing, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Geng Yansheng said on Thursday. Chinese leaders will hold talks with Hagel and exchange views on bilateral relations, regional and international situations and other issues of common concern, Geng said. The US delegation will also visit PLA units and academies, he said.

Syria

Half of chemical agents removed

The world's chemical weapons watchdog said more than 49 percent of Syria's raw materials used in the manufacture of poison gas and nerve agents scheduled for destruction have been shipped overseas, with the rest expected to leave by the end of April. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in a report to the United Nations that Syria has pledged to remove all chemicals by April 13, except for those in areas "that are presently inaccessible". Those face an April 27 deadline.

Qatar

US couple jailedin girl's death

A Qatari court has sentenced a US couple charged with starving their 8-year-old adopted daughter to death to three years in prison and fined them $4,100. Matthew and Grace Huang were jailed by Qatari authorities on murder charges in January 2013 following the death of their daughter, Gloria. The Huangs said she died of medical problems complicated by unusual eating habits, including periods of self-starvation.

United States

Bin Laden in-law found guilty

A New York jury on Wednesday found Osama bin Laden's son-in-law guilty of conspiracy to kill US citizens and of supporting terrorists as an impassioned al-Qaida spokesman in 2001-2002. Suleiman Abu Ghaith, 48, now faces life in a maximum-security US prison after a three-week trial that had been the highest profile al-Qaida case to reach a US federal court.

Germany

Nazi-looted art to be returned

An elderly German recluse is prepared to return precious paintings stolen by the Nazis from Jewish families, including a valuable Matisse, his spokesman said. Cornelius Gurlitt, 81, had stashed 1,400 art works by European masters in his Munich apartment and more than 200 paintings and sketches in a home in Salzburg, Austria. His spokesman said that Gurlitt had ordered his legal team to hand back works believed to have been stolen or extorted from Jewish families as part of the systematic looting of art collections by Nazis during World War II.

China Daily - AP -Reuters - AFP

(China Daily 03/28/2014 page11)