IN BRIEF (Page 13)

Eyewitness to decades of progress

UNITED NATIONS - "I'm very fortunate to have been a beneficiary, participant of and witness to China's reform and opening-up policy over the past four decades," said Chen Feng at United Nations headquarters.

Time running out for rescue chances

SAN MIGUEL LOS LOTES, Guatemala - Emergency crews pulled more bodies from what remained of villages devastated by the eruption of Guatemala's Volcano of Fire on Wednesday, but time was quickly running out to find survivors as the confirmed death toll rose to 99 with nearly 200 still missing.

Pakistanis enchanted by 11-year-old coach

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Several hundred Pakistani university students sit enraptured as Hammad Safi lectures them on the merits of bettering their diction by watching Barack Obama speeches on YouTube.

Three Chinese confirmed as victims of plane crash

Three Chinese citizens were identified on Wednesday as victims of a fatal plane crash in San Diego last month, officials said.

Edible proposal on pesky invaders

PORTLAND, Maine - If we eat them, will they go away?

Growing pains for 'bio' farmers

INZAI, Japan - Yuya Shibakai sometimes feels he is plowing a lonely furrow.

Israel promotes desert tourism

MITZPE RAMON, Israel - The Middle East country has already been credited with making the desert bloom. Now it hopes to make it boom - with tourists.

'Spiderman' foiled in tower attempt

SEOUL - Urban freeclimber Alain Robert attempted to scale the world's fifth-tallest building on Wednesday, getting more than half way up the 123-story Lotte World Tower in Seoul before security forced him to abandon the ascent.

Designer found dead in apparent suicide

NEW YORK - Kate Spade, the designer who built a fashion empire on the popularity of her signature handbags before selling the brand, was found dead in her New York City apartment on Tuesday morning in an apparent suicide, police said.

From shrieks in bucket to laughter, Brazil Zika baby improves

BONITO, Brazil - It's 3:30 am, and Jose Wesley Campos giggles nonstop as his mother plays with the toddler's thick glasses while preparing to take him to a doctor's appointment three hours away.

Mandarin on the up in down time

NEW YORK - Final exams are approaching for school students in the United States, as is the summer holiday, when many will spend the time at camps or doing volunteer jobs.