Briefly

CHINA

Dutch PM Rutte to pay working visit

Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte will pay a two-day working visit to China from Tuesday. The announcement was made on Monday by Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian at a news conference. According to news released by the Dutch Ministry of General Affairs, Rutte will meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang respectively to discuss issues including bilateral and economic relations, the crisis in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.

DPRK

Pyongyang clarifies stance on Japan ties

Japan should make a political decision for the improvement of its ties with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, a senior official said on Monday regarding Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's proposal on a summit with the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-un. Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said the idea of a summit alone would make it "impossible to improve the bilateral relations full of distrust and misunderstanding." According to the Korean Central News Agency, the official said Kishida's proposal would be criticized as a political stunt. Asked about media reports on the comment, Kishida reiterated the importance of a summit to resolve bilateral issues.

FRANCE

Charter flights to bring citizens back from Haiti

France is organizing government-chartered flights from Haiti to help its nationals seeking to leave the Caribbean country, which has been gripped by gang violence, the French foreign ministry said on Sunday. About 1,500 French nationals are registered with the French embassy in Haiti, which has seen waves of attacks by rival gangs, including raids on police stations and the international airport. France's foreign ministry said in a statement that the evacuation flights were being organized with the defense ministry to enable "the most vulnerable" nationals to leave the country. It did not provide further details.

SENEGAL

Opposition candidate Faye takes early lead

Early results from Senegal's presidential vote put opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye ahead, sending his supporters to celebrate in the streets, though his main rival from the ruling coalition said a runoff will be needed to determine the winner. At least five of the 19 candidates in the race issued statements as results trickled in after the election on Sunday, congratulating Faye. Former prime minister Amadou Ba, the ruling coalition's candidate, said however that celebrations were premature.

Agencies - Xinhua - China Daily