IN BRIEF (Page 8)

China

Nations pledge on dialogue

The leaders of China and Vietnam on Friday agreed to maintain frequent communication on maritime issues. The agreement was made in a joint statement released during Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang's ongoing China visit. Both sides agreed to conduct frequent communication and dialogue in order to properly solve maritime issues, proceeding from the overall interest of bilateral ties.

ROK negotiator arrives in Beijing

Seoul's chief negotiator to the Six-Party Talks, Cho Tae-yong, arrived in Beijing on Friday to meet his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei. Cho has said Seoul and Beijing are on the same footing that the two nations won't accept Pyongyang as a nuclear-armed state and consultations could be held based on consensus. Pyongyang's First Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Ky-gwan is in Beijing but Cho ruled out any possible encounter with Kim.

Pakistan

Bomb kills 14 at mosque

A bomb attack on Friday killed 14 people and wounded more than 25 others at a Shiite Muslim mosque and religious seminary on the outskirts of Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, officials said. "It was a suicide attack," police officer Shafi Ullah said at the scene.

South Africa

Mandela 'not about to die'

Anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela is improving in the hospital as he fights a recurrent lung infection and is not "going to die tomorrow", former South African president Thabo Mbeki has said.

Singapore

Muslims allowed to skip prayers

Singapore's top Islamic authority on Friday allowed local Muslims to skip Friday prayers at mosques as smog levels hit a new record high due to forest fires in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation.

China Daily-Xinhua-AP-Reuters

(China Daily 06/22/2013 page8)