IN BRIEF (Page 8)

China

Sino-Russian energy talks

China and Russia will hold talks on energy on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Friday. The talks will be co-chaired by Vice-Premier Wang Qishan and his Russian counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. China and Russia have held nine rounds of energy negotiations.

United States

Las Vegas shooting kills 3

Three people died on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday when at least one gunman in a Range Rover sport utility vehicle opened fire on a Maserati, killing the driver and touching off a fiery multi-car crash. The Maserati smashed into a taxi carrying two people, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police spokesman Jose Hernandez said.

2 die in medical helicopter crash

Authorities said a medical helicopter crashed in Oklahoma City, killing two people and injuring a third. The Oklahoma City Fire Department said the crash happened on Friday morning. A large storm system has blanketed much of the US Midwest in snow, but it wasn't immediately clear if authorities believe weather played a role in the crash.

Germany

US to keep Afghan presence

A German official is saying US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has told NATO allies that the United States will leave 8,000 to 12,000 US troops in Afghanistan after 2014, when combat ends. German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Friday that Panetta informed him of the numbers. US officials have yet to say publicly how many US troops will remain in Afghanistan after 2014.

United Nations

SARS-like virus kills 7th person

Another person has died from a SARS-like virus in Saudi Arabia, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, bringing the worldwide number of fatalities from the mystery illness to seven. The Saudi health ministry had informed the UN's health body that the patient was hospitalized on Jan 29 and died on Feb 10.

Indonesia

Anti-graft probe hits party chief

Indonesia's anti-graft body said on Friday it has named the chairman of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's party a suspect in connection with corruption allegations. "We have decided to name (Democratic Party Chairman Anas Urbaningrum) as a suspect," said Corruption Eradication Commission spokesman Johan Budi.

Xinhua-Reuters-AFP-AP

(China Daily 02/23/2013 page8)