News in Brief

US to return 2 Gitmo inmates to Algeria
Afp, Washington
The United States said Friday it will return two Algerians detained at Guantanamo Bay to their homeland as part of efforts to eventually close the War on Terror military prison.
President Barack Obama vowed to close the facility when he first took office in 2009, but four years on the military prison set up in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks still holds 166 men.

EU, China settle solar panel row
Afp, Brussels
The European Commission yesterday said it has reached an "amicable solution" with Beijing over imports of Chinese solar panels, a dispute that had threatened to turn into a full-blown trade war.
The breakthrough comes as Brussels and Beijing remain locked in a series of tit-for-tat disputes on other products ranging from steel pipes and telecoms equipment to wine and chemicals.The two sides are major trading powers, rivals and partners.

Floods kill 21 in China province
Afp, Beijing
At least 21 people have been killed and four reported missing in floods and mudslides that hit a Chinese province where at least 95 others died this week in twin earthquakes, state media reported yesterday.
Floods, landslides and rockfalls have been reported since Thursday in the northwestern province of Gansu following heavy rains, China's official Xinhua news agency said, quoting the local government.

7 killed in Florida hostage drama
Afp, Miami
Six people were shot to death in a hostage drama near the US city of Miami that ended early yesterday when police killed the suspect, police said.
The man allegedly took neighbors hostage in a Hialeah apartment building for reasons that were not immediately known, said police spokesman Sergeant Eddie Rodriguez.

Gunmen kill 7 Pak coastguards
Afp, Quetta
Gunmen attacked a coastguard checkpost in southwestern Pakistan yesterday, killing seven officials and wounding seven others, officials said. He said at least seven coastguard officials were also injured in the early morning attack.
Baluchistan suffers from both Islamist militancy and a regional insurgency which began in 2004, with rebels demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region's natural resources.