IN BRIEF (Page 11)

China Daily | Updated: 2014-10-13 07:23

UAE

Van Gogh set for desert Louvre

Masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent van Gogh will be among 300 works displayed at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the emirate said on Sunday, as it aims to become a leader in fine art. The museum, built at a cost of $630 million and set to open in December 2015, will feature paintings and sculptures from 13 of France's most renowned collections.

Iraq

45 killed by IS bombings

At least 45 people were killed in bombings in Baghdad and its rural outskirts on Saturday as the government continued to defend the capital against jihadists who four months ago seized major cities in northern Iraq. Islamic State fighters, who took control of large sections of Iraq this year, regularly target Shi'ite districts in Baghdad, and are penetrating surrounding farmland where Iraqi security forces and Shi'ite militias try to push them back.

Albania

Cannabis haul seized on ferry

Albania's border police seized 161 kg of cannabis in the port city of Vlora, police said on Sunday. The drug was found on Saturday in a truck boarding a ferry destined for the Italian port city of Brindisi, said officials from the border police. Albania is a major cannabis-producing country and a transit point for other drugs from other regions.

Libya

Lay down guns, says UN chief

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Libya's capital Tripoli on Saturday in an unannounced visit to support the political dialogue between the country's warring factions. After the meeting, Ban appealed to all armed groups to stop fighting immediately, saying that a military solution will not be sustainable.

Egypt

Donors pledge aid for Gaza

Global donors pledged hundreds of millions in aid to the devastated Gaza Strip on Sunday despite warnings the battered Palestinian enclave remained a "tinderbox" after its summer war with Israel.

Washington promised $212 million in new aid at the conference in Cairo, to meet what Secretary of State John Kerry described as an "enormous" challenge in Gaza.

AFP - Reuters - Xinhua

(China Daily 10/13/2014 page11)