IN BRIEF (Page 11)

FRANCE

EgyptAir crash inquiry opened

French authorities opened a manslaughter inquiry on Monday into the May crash of an EgyptAir plane that killed 66 people, saying there is no evidence so far to link it to terrorism. Prosecutor's office spokesman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre said the inquiry was launched as an accident investigation, not a terrorism investigation.

KOREAN PENINSULA

ROK rejects DPRK's meeting offer

Republic of Korea on Tuesday rejected the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's proposal to hold a meeting of political parties and social organizations from the two neighbors around Aug 15 marking the 71st anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

MALAYSIA

Explosion injures 8 near Kuala Lumpur

A least eight people, including a Chinese citizen, were injured in an explosion in Kuala Lumpur early on Tuesday. The explosion hit a bar where people were watching the Euro 2016 soccer match and was believed to be caused by a hand grenade. Police said the case was being investigated as an attempted murder.

BANGLADESH

7 people charged in Italian's murder

Police charged seven people including a senior opposition official over the murder of an Italian aid worker last September, an officer said on Tuesday. The killing near the capital's diplomatic zone was the first in a wave of attacks claimed by the Islamic State group, and was followed days later by the gunning down of a Japanese farmer.

LEBANON

Army raids Syrian refugee camps

Lebanese troops raided makeshift refugee camps near a predominantly Christian village on the border with Syria on Tuesday a day after two waves of suicide attacks. Five people were killed and 15 wounded when four suicide bombers attacked the village before dawn on Monday.

TONGA

Boat with 11 people reported missing

Rescuers launched an air and sea search on Tuesday for a boat missing in Pacific waters off Tonga carrying 11 people, including up to five children. Police said the boat set off from Nuku'alofa on Monday and was due to arrive overnight in Fonoifua island.

(China Daily 06/29/2016 page11)