IN BRIEF (Page 11)

United Kingdom

Ecuador says Assange used embassy to spy

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange repeatedly violated his asylum conditions and tried to use the Ecuadorian embassy in London as a center for spying, Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno told Britain's Guardian newspaper. "We cannot allow our house, the house that opened its doors, to become a center for spying," The Guardian quoted Moreno as saying. London police dragged Assange out of the embassy on Thursday after his seven-year asylum was revoked, paving the way for his extradition to the United States for one of the biggest ever leaks of classified information.

New Zealand

Officials hope for info on nurse held in Syria

New Zealand's foreign minister has confirmed that a New Zealand nurse has been held captive by the Islamic State group in Syria for almost six years, information long kept secret for fear her life might be at risk. The status of nurse and midwife Louisa Akavi, 62, is unknown but her employer, the International Committee of the Red Cross, said it has received recent eyewitness reports suggesting she might be alive. "We continue to work together (with the Red Cross) to locate and recover her," Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. "This has been a uniquely complex and difficult case."

Venezuela

Govt slams 'criminal impact' of US sanctions

The Venezuelan government on Sunday denounced the US sanctions targeting its state-owned oil company PDVSA for the "criminal impact" on the Venezuelan people. The sanctions blocked the country's access to oil revenues and its ability to pay for key social and health programs, the government said in a statement. The sanctions "prevent the implementation of humanitarian aid programs for particularly difficult health cases", such as cancer, Parkinson's, epilepsy, and liver and bone marrow transplants, according to the statement. These "types of sanctions, promoted by Venezuelan political players and dictated by the U.S. government, constitute a flagrant violation of the human rights of the patients affected," the government said.

Libya

Death toll of Tripoli clashes rises to 147

A total of 147 people have been killed and 614 others wounded in the fighting between the UN-backed Libyan government and the east-based army in and around the capital Tripoli, the World Health Organization said late on Sunday. "Tripoli crisis toll is now 147 dead and 614 wounded. WHO has deployed surgical teams to support hospitals as they cope with the influx of trauma cases," WHO said in a statement. The eastern army, led by Khalifa Haftar, has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over Tripoli where the UN-backed government is based.

Reuters - Ap - Xinhua

(China Daily 04/16/2019 page11)