Xinhua world news summary at 1500 GMT, March 22

PRAGUE -- Six people have been killed and two others heavily injured when a chemical plant exploded on Thursday morning in Kralupy nad Vltavou, a town in the north of Prague, said Czech regional rescuers spokeswoman Petra Effenbergerova.

Effenbergerova said the blast occurred after 10 a.m.local time due to the explosion of an uncertain container at the site during disassembling of some construction. Emergency crew including helicopters rescued the victims to the hospitals of Prague. (Czech Republic-Chemical Plant Explosion)

- - - -

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron Thursday pledged over phone that China and France would jointly implement their consensus on deepening ties and promote multilateralism to build an open global trade system.

Macron congratulated Xi on being elected Chinese president on Saturday at the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature. (Xi-Macron-Phone Talk)

- - - -

SEOUL -- A South Korean court on Thursday issued a warrant to arrest former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak over a series of corruption charges, according to local media reports.

The Seoul Central District Court decided to put Lee, who served his five-year presidential term through early 2013, under custody as he denied almost all of alleged wrongdoings, and even basic facts found through an investigation. (S.Korea-Lee Myung-bak-Arrest)

- - - -

DAMASCUS -- A total of 13 Syrian soldiers who were kidnapped by the rebels in the Damascus' eastern city of Harasta were released on Thursday, as part of an agreement that will see the evacuation of rebels and their families from that area as well as kidnapped Syrian soldiers, according to the state TV.

The kidnapped soldiers were the first to leave Harasta on Thursday before the evacuation of the rebels and their families from that area in the Eastern Ghouta countryside of Damascus. (Syria-Rebels)

- - - -

GAZA -- Hamas-run police in Gaza killed Thursday two suspects of last week's failed assassination attempt of Palestinian prime minister in the Gaza Strip.

The interior ministry in Gaza, run by Islamic Hamas movement, said in a statement that the police surrounded three suspects in a house in the central Gaza Strip refugee camp of al-Nussairat and asked them to surrender. (Gaza-Attack) Enditem