Briefly

IRAQ

Over 60 killed in shopping mall fire

A fire engulfed a newly opened shopping center in eastern Iraq, killing more than 60 people, including children, Iraqi officials said on Thursday. Civil defense teams rescued more than 45 people who became trapped when the fire broke out late Wednesday in the city of Kut, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Provincial governor Mohammed Jameel al-Maihy has announced three days of mourning for the victims. He said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

SOUTH KOREA

Court clears Samsung chairman in fraud case

South Korea's top court cleared Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee of accounting fraud and stock manipulation on Thursday. The Supreme Court upheld an appeals court's ruling dismissing all charges in the case involving an $8 billion merger in 2015, freeing Lee to focus on Samsung's push to catch up in a global race to develop cutting-edge AI chips. A lower court last year had also cleared Lee of the charges relating to a deal between two Samsung affiliates.

SPACE

Astronomers observe new solar system birth

Astronomers said on Wednesday they had observed the moment when planets start forming around a distant star for the first time, revealing a process that sheds light on the birth of our own solar system. The new planetary system is forming around the baby star HOPS-315 — which resembles our own Sun in its youth — 1,300 light years from Earth in the Orion Nebula. Young stars are surrounded by massive rings of gas and dust.

Agencies - Xinhua