BEIJING (Reuters) – China and India will hold the 25th round of talks between the two countries’ special representatives on the boundary question in Beijing on Aug 25, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced on Monday. As agreed between the two sides, Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs and China’s Special Representative on the Boundary Question between China and India, will co-chair the talks with India’s Special Representative and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, said the spokesperson.

 

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PARIS (AFP) - Strong thunderstorms in southwestern France caused significant damage, particularly in the Landes department, and left 7,500 households without power Sunday night. The Landes prefecture said major thunderstorms caused “significant damage in around 20 municipalities,” with emergency services responding more than 150 times overnight to “forest fires, flooding and roads blocked by fallen trees.” During the night, 7,500 households were left without electricity. Firefighters said two people were slightly injured.

 

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ALMATY (Reuters) - A newly formed pro-government party won a large majority in a snap parliamentary election in Kazakhstan, three different exit polls showed, in a result set to cement President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s power over the country, a major energy and minerals exporter. The exit polls, which were published on Kazakh state media, showed the Adilet party winning between 70% and 72% of the vote, with a turnout of more than 74%. The exit polls said four small opposition parties also won seats, though they too are widely seen as ultimately loyal to Tokayev.

 

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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia on Monday intensified ground and aerial firefighting operations as huge blazes in central and western parts of the country scorched thousands of hectares of forests and peatland, created a choking haze that blanketed cities and crossed borders. Indonesian authorities have been battling fires driven by an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season, generating dense smoke that crossed into Malaysia and Brunei, according to Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency.

 

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ATHENES (DW) - Migrants clashed with police at a detention center in northern Greece, with 35 having escaped the premises after cutting through a perimeter fence before police detained about half of them again, authorities said on Sunday. Greece is a major point of entry for migrants to Europe, and the country’s conservative prime minister has introduced tough rules to deport those who’ve been denied asylum in the country. Greece, along with other European Union countries, for example, is in talks with African countries about establishing centers for failed asylum-seekers, a move that has drawn criticism from international rights groups.