News In Brief

Pope sets up council to reform  Church
Afp, Vatican City

Pope Francis yesterday set up a group of cardinals to advise him on church governance and study reforms, marking the new pontiff's first step toward reforming the Catholic Church's opaque administration.
In a brief statement, the Vatican said that Francis had named eight cardinals from around the world to the group that will examine updating the constitution of the Roman Curia -- the Church administration, which analysts say is badly in need of reform.
The cardinals include two Europeans (Italy and Germany), two from Latin America (Chile and Honduras), one from North America (USA), one from Asia (India), one African and one Australian.

6.3-magnitude quake hits Japan
Afp, Tokyo

A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit western Japan early yesterday injuring at least 24 people and destroying some houses, officials and reports said.
It was the biggest earthquake to hit western Hyogo prefecture since 1995, when a 7.2-magnitude quake destroyed its port city of Kobe and killed more than 6,000 people.

Human H7N9 bird flu case in Beijing
Afp, Beijing

A seven-year-old girl is Beijing's first human case of H7N9 bird flu, local authorities said yesterday as China's outbreak of the disease spread to the capital.
Chinese officials announced nearly two weeks ago that they had found the H7N9 strain in humans for the first time, and the girl brought the number of confirmed infections to 44, 11 of whom have died.