China

Special envoy to visit US

Wu Dawei, China's special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs, will pay a visit to the United States next week, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Friday. She said the two sides will exchange views on the maintenance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, as well as the denuclearization of the peninsula.

Iraq

Baghdad cafe bomb claims 27

Violence spiked as Iraq readied on Friday for its first elections since US troops withdrew, with 27 people killed in a late-night bombing at a Baghdad billiards cafe frequented by young men. The attack raises further questions about the credibility of Saturday's provincial elections, with 14 candidates already having been killed.

United States

14 killed in plant explosion

Local authorities of West, Texas, said on Thursday that an explosion at a fertilizer plant on Wednesday killed 14 people and injured more than 160 others. The explosion at the West Fertilizer Co in downtown West, about 130 km south of Dallas, rocked the area with the strength of a 2.1-magnitude earthquake and leveled dozens of houses.

Cameroon

French hostages released

A French family of seven kidnapped by Islamic extremists in Cameroon in February have been freed and are in the hands of officials, President Paul Biya said. He made the announcement in a statement read on national radio, which said the hostages had been "handed over last night to Cameroonian authorities".

Indonesia

Sunken boat death toll rises

Rescuers have pulled 10 more bodies from a murky river after a boat packed with factory workers capsized in central Indonesia, bringing the death toll to 13. The boat was believed to be carrying about 66 workers from a plywood factory and two crew members when it sank on Wednesday while crossing the Mahakam river in Borneo island.

Germany

Union calls for airline strike

German union Verdi on Friday called for a one-day walkout by Lufthansa staff at German airports on Monday. "Verdi has called on Lufthansa employees to stage full-day warning strikes at German airports on April 22 after management failed to come up with a negotiable pay offer in the third round of pay talks on April 17," the union said in a statement.

Xinhua-AP-AFP-Reuters

(China Daily 04/20/2013 page12)