IN BRIEF (Page 11)

South Korea

2 soldiers die in warfare training

Two young soldiers in South Korea's special warfare unit died during training, the military said on Wednesday, following a series of incidents and suicides that have unleashed public fury over bullying in the army. The two staff sergeants in their early 20s, surnamed Lee and Cho, died after collapsing during training on Tuesday night, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.

Venezuela

Govt probes drama show

Venezuela has opened a probe into a US television drama series that depicts President Nicolas Maduro as buying chemical weapons on the black market to put down anti-government protests. Fox 21, the producers of the TNT cable series Legends, apologized to the Venezuelan leader, saying the series was just fiction and did not mean to imply it was reporting real events.

Israel

Delegation to lobby US on Iran

Israel will send a delegation to the United States ahead of the resumption of the talks between world powers and Iran, trying to promote a tougher stance toward Iran. "Israel is making a tremendous effort in order to prevent a bad agreement between Iran and the world powers," Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz told Israel Radio on Wednesday. The delegation will reiterate Israel's stern demands against any deal with Iran that does not include the removal of all Iranian nuclear capabilities, an Israeli official said on condition of anonymity.

Japan

5 women named in Cabinet

Japan's prime minister picked five women for his Cabinet on Wednesday, matching the past record and sending the strongest message yet about his determination to revive the economy by getting women on board as workers and leaders. Japan has a vast pool of talented, well educated women, but they are greatly underrepresented in positions of power in government and corporations. Women make up 10 percent of parliament and just 3.9 percent of board members of listed Japanese companies, versus 12 percent at US corporations and 18 percent in France.

Indonesia

Energy minister on graft charge

Indonesia's anti-graft commission said on Wednesday it is investigating the country's minister of energy and mines for alleged corruption. Bambang Widjojanto, deputy chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission, said Jero Wacik illegally acquired 9.9 billion rupiah ($840,400) from 2011 to 2013 by extorting money from mining companies, claiming expenses for fake meetings and manipulating the ministry's budget.

AFP-AP-Reuters-Xinhua

(China Daily 09/04/2014 page11)