IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Myanmar

3,073 prisoners pardoned

Myanmar began releasing hundreds of prisoners - including a political detainee and former military intelligence figures - on "humanitarian" grounds, officials said on Tuesday. President Thein Sein pardoned 3,073 people, including 58 foreign nationals, citing "stability of the state, the rule of law" and "humanitarian" grounds, according to a Facebook post on Tuesday by Information Minister Ye Htut.

Afghanistan

19 militants killed in clashes

Twenty armed militants have given up fighting and 19 others have lost their lives in clashes with security forces over the past 24 hours in conflict-ridden Afghanistan. In the latest incident, a 20-member armed group laid down their weapons and joined the government-backed peace process in Badakhshan province, 315 km northeast of the national capital Kabul on Tuesday, police said.

Japan

Abe, Putin to meet at APEC

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Beijing in November, the two leaders decided on Tuesday, a Japanese government official said. During a 10-minute phone conversation, the two leaders also discussed Japan-Russia ties, and Abe urged Russia to fulfill its role in stabilizing the situation in Ukraine, said Noriaki Ikeda, of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

France

Eiffel Tower gets glass flooring

The Eiffel Tower has been given a vertigo-inducing face-lift as organizers celebrate the Paris monument's 125th anniversary. The 324-meter tower now has see-through glass floor panels on its first level. The four small viewing sections, which cost $38 million, were unveiled to visitors on Monday. The iron-lattice tower was erected for the 1889 World Fair.

United Kingdom

Crime infiltrates pro sports

The man tasked with eliminating drug cheats said criminal gangs now control a quarter of all world professional sports. David Howman, director-general of the World Anti-Doping Agency, called for everyone involved in the fight against sports corruption to band together to ensure the "bad guys" don't win.

Singapore

No further lid on foreign workers

Singapore is not considering any further major measures to tighten the numbers of foreign worker as the current efforts to control foreign worker inflows are "bearing fruit", said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday at the launch of National Productivity Month.

AP - Xinhua - AFP - Reuters

(China Daily 10/08/2014 page11)