Briefly

CHINA

Norwegian foreign minister to pay visit

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide will pay a two-day official visit to China starting from Monday. During the visit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Eide will hold in-depth exchanges on China-Norway relations as well as international and regional issues of mutual concern, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a daily news conference on Friday. She said she believes the visit is expected to consolidate mutual trust, build consensus and strengthen bilateral cooperation.

SE ASIA

Typhoon wreaks havoc in Vietnam, Philippines

Typhoon Kalmaegi churned across Vietnam on Friday, claiming five more lives after its devastating passage through the Philippines where the death toll rose to 188. Kalmaegi unleashed record rainfall and flooding in the central Philippines this week — sweeping away cars, trucks and shipping containers before lashing Vietnam late Thursday. "The roof of my house was just blown away," said Nguyen Van Tam, a 42-year-old fisherman in Vietnam's Gia Lai Province, where the storm made landfall packing sustained winds of up to 149 kilometers per hour.

UNITED STATES

Strike on boat kills 3, taking death toll to 70

The US forces struck another alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean on Thursday, killing three people, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from Washington's controversial anti-narcotics campaign to at least 70. The US began carrying out such strikes in early September, taking aim at vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. The US strikes have destroyed at least 18 vessels so far, but Washington has yet to make public any concrete evidence that its targets were smuggling narcotics or posed a threat to the US.

IRAQ

Air services resume after 11-year hiatus

Iraq's national carrier announced on Thursday the resumption of domestic flights at Mosul International Airport, marking its return to operation after an 11-year hiatus following the Islamic State group's capture of the city in 2014. Iraqi Airways confirmed that the first flight from the airport to Baghdad took off in the morning. Iraqi Minister of Transport Razzaq Muhaibis al-Saadawi said in a statement that the launch of domestic flights was the first step, with plans to soon introduce international routes.

China Daily - Xinhua - Agencies