Briefly

JAPAN

Country battered by more heavy rain, floods

Pounding rain that had already caused deadly floods in southern Japan was moving northeast on Wednesday, battering large areas of Japan's main island, swelling more rivers, triggering mudslides and destroying houses and roads. Parts of Nagano and Gifu, including areas known for scenic mountain trails and hot springs, were flooded by massive downpours. As of Wednesday evening, the death toll from the heavy rains starting over the weekend had risen to 58, most of them from the hardest-hit Kumamoto prefecture.

SWITZERLAND

Six candidates bidding for WTO leadership

Six candidates are vying to become the next head of the World Trade Organization－an institution which faced mammoth challenges even before the pandemic-driven global economic crisis struck. The window to enter the race slams shut on Wednesday, in a speeded-up contest to replace the outgoing WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo－the Brazilian career diplomat who is stepping down one year early at the end of August. The six candidates are from Egypt, Kenya, Mexico, Moldova, Nigeria and South Korea.

INDIA

LG Polymers CEO arrested over gas leak

Indian police have arrested 12 LG Polymers officials, including its CEO Sunkey Jeong from South Korea, an official said on Wednesday, two months after a gas leak at the company's south Indian chemical plant killed 12. The arrests were made under a case of culpable homicide filed against the company, a unit of the LG Chem Ltd, and its officials, stemming from the leak that occurred in the early hours on May 7 in the port city of Visakhapatnam. This week, a government-appointed committee said LG Polymers had ignored potentially hazardous chemical reactions at the plant in April before the leak.

Agencies - Xinhua