Briefly

ARGENTINA

VP handed 6-year sentence for fraud

Vice-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was convicted and sentenced on Tuesday to six years in prison and a lifetime ban from holding public office for a fraud scheme that embezzled $1 billion through public works projects during her presidency. A three-judge panel found her guilty of fraud, but rejected a charge of running a criminal organization, for which the sentence could have been 12 years in prison. It was the first time an Argentine vice-president has been convicted of a crime while in office. She is expected to appeal against the sentence as she denied the allegations and called the court a "firing squad".

LAOS

First 'banana train' leaves for China

A special freight train carrying 25 cold-chain containers loaded with 500 metric tons of fresh Lao bananas departed from the Vientiane station in the Lao capital on Wednesday. The train will travel all the way north across mountains and rivers along the China-Laos Railway to Changsha in southern China. This is the first "banana train" that travels directly to a specific Chinese city since the China-Laos Railway was put into operation a year ago. Bananas are among the top agricultural products exported from Laos. During the first half of this year, banana exports were worth $141 million, only after cassava exports which made around $250 million.

Xinhua - Agencies