Xinhua world news summary at 0830 GMT, Feb. 1

SAN FRANCISCO -- U.S. leading aircraft manufacturer Boeing Company said Wednesday that Oman Air has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets, one of 30 aircraft to be operated by the West Asia country.X "The aircraft will be a perfect complement to our 737 family as we continue to expand our operations and play an increasingly active role in promoting Oman for business as well as a unique tourism destination, which is growing rapidly in popularity with every passing year," said Abdulaziz Al-Raisi, acting CEO of Oman Air, the flag carrier of the Sultanate of Oman. (US-Boeing-737 MAX 8)

- - - -

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday that China is willing to work with Finland to push for new progress of their future-oriented new-type cooperative partnership.

Xi made the remarks in his congratulatory message to Finnish President Sauli Niinisto on his re-election as president. (China-Xi-Finland)

- - - -

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir -- Troops of India and Pakistan Thursday exchanged heavy fire and targeted each other's positions on Line of Control (LoC), dividing Kashmir, officials here said.

The two sides exchanged fire in Nowshera sector of frontier Rajouri district, about 222 km southwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. (India-Pakistan)

- - - -

SYDNEY -- Aussie scientists in collaboration with researchers from Japan have announced on Thursday, the world's first accurate blood test for Alzheimer's disease.

Capable of detecting the illness up to 20 years before any symptoms occur at an accuracy of over 90 percent, the test identifies the build-up of a protein called amyloid-beta, which is an early indicator of the disease. (Australia-Japan-Alzheimer) Enditem