BANGKOK: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul today during a visit aimed at strengthening the countries’ co-operation.

The two agreed to strengthen collaboration in fighting transnational crime and cyberscams and other areas, Thai government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek said.

She said Mr Anutin thanked China for its continued support for Thailand, while Mr Wang expressed confidence that Thailand-China relations will continue to improve.

US: A special forces soldier involved in the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been charged with using classified information to win more than $400,000 (£296,000) in online betting.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke used his access to classified information to make money on the prediction market site Polymarket, the federal prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.

He has been charged by the Justice Department with unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain. He could face years in prison.

NEPAL: A massive ice block on the route just above the Mount Everest base camp has forced hundreds of climbers and their guides to delay their attempt to scale the world’s highest peak, officials said today.

The ice between base camp and Camp One is unstable and is risky for climbers, said Himal Gautam of Nepal’s Department of Mountaineering.

Officials are working with climbers and expedition organisers to assess the situation as hundreds wait at base camp unable to move up the mountain.

TANZANIA: At least 518 people died in last year’s post-election violence, which happened amid an internet shutdown, a commission formed to investigate the bloodshed said on Thursday.

Thousands of people were injured in the violence, with more than 800 people having gunshot wounds.

The commission’s chairman, Mohamed Chande Othman, said that the number of deaths was likely to be higher, because some families buried their loved ones without taking their bodies to morgues.