China

US official slated for visit

US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel will pay a two-day visit to China beginning on Sept 13, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. Russel will meet senior Chinese officials to "exchange views on bilateral, regional and international issues of common concern", Hong said on Wednesday. According to the US State Department, Russel's trip will also bring him to South Korea, Japan, Brunei and Indonesia. This will be his first official visit to the region since his taking office in July.

United States

Man who held 3 commits suicide

The US man who kidnapped three young women and repeatedly raped them in his home for nearly a decade was found hanging in his cell and is believed to have committed suicide, an official said on Wednesday. Ariel Castro, 53, had started serving a life prison term after being sentenced last month to life in prison plus 1,000 years on his guilty plea to 937 counts including kidnapping and rape.

Afghanistan

Woman steals $1m from bank

Officials say a young woman managed to steal $1.1 million from a major Afghan bank by transferring the money to relatives' accounts. She then vanished, setting off an international hunt. The alleged theft by the Azizi Bank employee highlights the deep corruption in Afghanistan's banking sector, which already saw one leading institution unravel after revelations of massive fraud.

Iraq

Attacks on forces claim 12

Bombings and shootings targeting security forces across Iraq killed at least 12 people on Wednesday, officials said, as authorities found the bodies of 16 people killed in an attack overnight on two Shiite families south of Baghdad. The assault on the two families raised Tuesday's death toll in violence across the country to at least 83 people killed.

China Daily-AFP-AP

(China Daily 09/05/2013 page11)