IN BRIEF (Page 11)

China

Xi to preside over summit

President Xi Jinping will chair the 4th Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia in Shanghai on May 20 and 21, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Tuesday. Delegations from nearly 40 countries and international organizations will attend the meeting, with 14 heads of state and heads of government and eight international organization chiefs confirming their presence. The summit will send a message to the world that Asia should take the lead in dealing with Asian affairs, and that security in Asia can be realized through closer cooperation among countries in the region, Qin told a news conference.

United Kingdom

Subway strike brings chaos

Millions of Londoners were forced to walk, cycle or take packed buses to work on Tuesday as a 48-hour strike by subway workers caused disruption across the capital. Services were operating on nine of the 11 London Underground lines but at a much reduced frequency, causing lines outside stations and overcrowded trains at rush hour, as more than 50 of the estimated 270 stations were closed.

Iran

IAEA experts to visit nuke sites

A team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to visit two of Iran's nuclear sites in the next week as part of a monitoring process agreed with the UN agency. Iran's IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday that inspectors would travel to the Ardakan yellow-cake production plant and the Saghand uranium mine, located close together about 450 km from Teheran.

Syria

14 die in attack on Damascus

At least 14 people were killed on Monday in a rebel mortar attack on Syria's capital Damascus, as four new candidates registered to run in next month's presidential vote. The new candidates bring the number of people hoping to compete in the June 3 election to 11, including President Bashar al-Assad. "Fourteen citizens were killed and 86 others wounded by terrorists who targeted the Shaghur neighborhood in Damascus," the SANA news agency said.

Turkey

Govt seeks extradition

Turkey will launch proceedings to seek the extradition of exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen from the United States, media reports quoted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying on Tuesday. Erdogan said a legal procedure would begin for the extradition of Gulen, a former ally the prime minister now accuses of masterminding a corruption scandal aimed at unseating the government.

China Daily-AFP-AP

(China Daily 04/30/2014 page11)