IN BRIEF (Page 7)

China

Iran's Rouhani meets scholars

Visiting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani met in Shanghai on Thursday with Chinese scholars from leading think tanks and universities. Rouhani shared his insights with Chinese scholars - led by Professor Yang Jiemian, chairman of the Academic Council of Shanghai Institutes for International Studies - on international and regional developments, China-Iran relations, and the important roles and cooperation between the two countries' think tanks.

Philippines

Group abducts mother, daughter

Suspected members of the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf kidnapped a Chinese businesswoman and her daughter in the southern Philippines on Thursday night, a police official said. Police Chief Superintendent Albert Larubis said Dina Lim Iraham, 45, and her daughter Yahong Lim Tan, 19, were snatched from their karaoke bar in Isabela City, Basilan province. Larubis said witnesses disclosed that about 10 heavily armed men went inside the bar and seized the victims at gunpoint.

Italy

Delegation hails partnership

The professionalism of Italian experts has impressed people in the Tibet autonomous region, visiting Chinese Tibetologists said in Italy on Thursday. The members of the Tibetan cultural exchange delegation made the remarks when visiting the Italian Senate to explore cooperation between Tibet and the European nation. Italy, among the first batch of Western countries to establish cooperation with Tibet, has worked with the autonomous region on areas including education, healthcare and clean energy since 1981.

Syria

Rebel attack claims 21 lives

Rebels have shelled a rally in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's re-election, killing 21 people, after the army cut a key rebel supply route to the main northern city of Aleppo. Mortar fire, which hit a tent where Assad supporters had gathered in the southern city of Daraa late on Thursday, also wounded at least 30 people, observers said.

Turkey

2 dead in clashes with police

Two people died from injuries suffered in violent clashes between police and protesters in Istanbul, an official said on Friday. Police fought with more than a dozen youths who hurled stones and firebombs on Thursday. One man was shot and died in a hospital hours later.

Afghanistan

Indian consulate under attack

The Indian consulate in the Afghan province of Herat was attacked early on Friday on the eve of the swearing in of India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi. No one was harmed in the attack and the four attackers were killed in gunfight with security personnel.

Xinhua-China Daily-AFP-AP

(China Daily 05/24/2014 page7)