Pakistani army chief visits Kabul to discuss peace talks

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed on Sunday to meet with U.S. and Chinese officials in the first weeks of the new year to discuss “peace-related issues,” a move that could invigorate a stalled peace process with the Taliban, the Afghan president’s office said.

The development came as Pakistan’s powerful army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif met with senior officials in the Afghan capital, including President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

The visit focused on the possible revival of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, which stalled this summer. The Taliban have been waging a vicious insurgency since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion overthrew their regime.

Bilateral ties had suffered in recent months, and Ghani has lately blamed Pakistan for much of the violence in Afghanistan, saying Islamabad supports and harbors the Taliban in Pakistani cities close to the Afghan border – a charge Pakistan denies.

Mine owner drowns

during rescue effort

BEIJING – The owner of a Chinese gypsum mine drowned after jumping into a well in an apparent suicide during rescue efforts for 17 workers still trapped two days after the mine collapsed and killed one person, state media said Sunday.

Quoting a morning briefing by the rescue command center, state media said Ma Congbo, president of Yurong Commerce and Trade Ltd. Co., was assisting with rescue efforts on Saturday morning when he jumped into a mine well and drowned.

Since the mine collapse on Friday, rescuers have pulled 11 workers to safety and recovered one body. Another 17 miners are yet to be found.

Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral that is widely used in construction.

Chinese authorities have typically meted out harsh punishments, including jail sentences, to company management and local work safety officials following major work safety disasters.

The mine collapse came just days after a landslide from a man-made pileup of construction waste in the southern city of Shenzhen.

Authorities have ruled that the landslide was not a geological disaster but a work safety incident, adding to China’s list of major man-made disasters in recent years.