IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Mali

Suicide attack kills dozens of fighters

At least 33 people were killed and several dozen injured after an explosives-laden vehicle targeted a camp housing armed groups in northern Mali, a local official said on Wednesday. The morning blast hit the Joint Operational Mechanism base in the city of Gao. The base houses hundreds of fighters including members of armed groups that signed Mali's 2015 peace agreement.

South Korea

Ex-Daewoo head jailed for fraud

The former head of ailing South Korean vessel builder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine was sentenced to 10 years in prison for accounting fraud on Wednesday, among the longest penalties imposed on a businessman for financial crime in the country. Ko Jae-ho was found guilty of manipulating the company's books in 2013 and 2014, when he was the CEO, and using them for bank loans.

Italy

Reeling nation hit by quake triple-punch

Three earthquakes hit central Italy on Wednesday in a stinging triple-punch that brought fresh terror to an area still reeling from deadly quakes last year and struggling to cope with heavy snowfall. Monitors said the first quake, which struck at 10:25 am was magnitude-5.3 magnitude. A second, some 50 minutes later, was put at magnitude-5.7, and was quickly followed by a third, measured at magnitude-5.5.

United States

60-year-old gorilla dies in zoo

The world's first gorilla born in a zoo, a female named Colo who became the oldest known living gorilla in the United States, has died at age 60, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium said on Tuesday. Colo died in her sleep less than a month after her birthday. She surpassed the usual life expectancy of captive gorillas by two decades.

(China Daily 01/19/2017 page12)