China

Trilateral FTA talks launched

China, Japan and South Korea began formal negotiations on Tuesday on securing a free trade agreement to bind together three economies that account for around 20 percent of the global gross domestic product. With all three countries under new leadership, trade officials hope they can move beyond territorial disputes that have dogged their relations for decades.

Japan asked to build trust

Beijing on Tuesday urged Japan to enhance mutual trust with its neighbors, after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told European Council President Herman Van Rompuy on Monday that the EU should maintain its ban on arms exports to China. "Japan should correct its mentality, do more to enhance mutual trust with its neighbors and work for regional peace and stability, rather than act contrarily," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

Egypt

Kidnappers release tourists

Kidnappers released a Norwegian woman and an Israeli man held in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula following negotiations mediated by Bedouin leaders between authorities and the group that seized the tourists four days ago, security sources said on Tuesday. The tourists had been kidnapped on Friday while driving between the resort towns of Dahab and Taba on the Red Sea coast.

Guatemala

Earthquake hits near capital

A powerful earthquake struck Guatemala close to the capital on Monday, though residents of Guatemala City felt little movement from the deep tremor and emergency services said there were no initial reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter of the 6.2-magnitude earthquake was only 9.5 km southeast of Guatemala City.

Iraq

Bomb kills 2 politicians

A bomb tore through an armor-plated car near a disputed town north of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing two election candidates and badly hurting a town mayor, weeks before Iraq's first vote since 2010. The blast in Tuz Khurmatu, which also killed a bodyguard and wounded another, brings the number of provincial council election candidates who have been killed to 11.

Indian

Another woman gang raped

In yet another shocking incident of sexual assault in India, a 21-year-old woman has been allegedly gang raped by four men in a moving car in the northern city of Amritsar in Punjab state on late Monday night, a top police official said. The victim in a complaint has alleged that she was walking to a bus stop when a car approached her and a person forcibly pulled her inside.

Reuters-AFP-Xinhua

(China Daily 03/27/2013 page11)