IN BRIEF (Page 12)

CANADA

Explosion kills 1 in Toronto area

An explosion leveled one home and damaged at least two dozen others on Tuesday afternoon in a town west of Toronto, killing one person. One woman died at the scene of the blast in Mississauga, Ontario, and about a dozen other people were treated for minor injuries, a Peel paramedic spokesman said. Photos of the scene show heavy damage to nearby homes and debris spread over a wide area.

JAPAN

Judge 'sorry' for bondage photo

A judge who posted photos of himself half-naked and bound with ropes on Twitter has apologized for being "inappropriate". Tokyo High Court judge Kiichi Okaguchi, 50, was ticked off by bosses after uploading the bondage snaps of himself wearing only perfectly legal briefs. "An S&M queen comes to a bar after closing hers," he explained in a tweet accompanying the risque pictures, reportedly taken in the establishment. "So I became a guinea pig and was tied up."

MALAYSIA

Police investigate grenade attack

Police remained doubtful that extremists were behind a grenade attack on a nightspot, but were forced to reassess the possibility on Wednesday after an Islamic State claim of responsibility was posted on Facebook. Investigators had previously ruled out terrorism as the motive for Tuesday's attack on the bar near Kuala Lumpur, which wounded eight people, including a woman from China.

UNITED STATES

Rocket in test for Mars missions

NASA's fireworks came early this year with a successful rocket test in Utah.

On Tuesday, NASA fired a booster intended to hoist astronauts into true outer space. The ground test lasted the full two minutes, and the early word is that everything went well. NASA plans to use the mega-rocket for trips to Mars in the 2030s.

AUSTRALIA

Rescued seal returns to the wild

An 18-month-old fur seal has been released back into the wild after he was rescued from Sydney's recent storms. Taronga Zoo announced on Wednesday that the seal, nicknamed "Elvis", was found exhausted and malnourished on June 17 on Sydney's northern beaches following storms that battered the city. "He was initially a bit hesitant to get in the water, but eventually he dived in and started swimming strongly," Taronga Zoo said.

GERMANY

Car flips due to snails' slimy trail

Police said a driver lost control of his car after slipping on a slimy trail left by a procession of snails that were making their way across the highway. The car��an old East German Trabant��flipped over and was wrecked, but the driver was unhurt. Police said the incident happened early on Wednesday near Paderborn.

(China Daily 06/30/2016 page12)