IN BRIEF (Page 11)

FRANCE

4 children killed in bus collision

A regional train hit a school bus on a crossing in Millas, close to the border with Spain, on Thursday, killing four children and critically injuring 11 other people on the bus, the Interior Ministry said. Photos from the scene showed the train derailed and the bus shorn in half with first responders gathered around.

THAILAND

US envoy urges DPRK dialogue

The top US envoy for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea said on Friday that "real dialogue" is needed to gauge what Pyongyang wants from its accelerated drive toward being a nuclear weapons statehood. Joseph Yun's comments came after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson created a stir by appearing to open a door to direct talks with Pyongyang without preconditions - a major policy shift that the White House swiftly rowed back on.

SWITZERLAND

No progress in latest Syrian talks

The UN envoy for Syria said the latest round of Geneva talks ended without progress on Thursday after two fruitless weeks, calling it a "golden opportunity missed" and acknowledging that he needs to come up with new ideas to make headway toward ending Syria's nearly seven-year war. Staffan de Mistura's rare admission of failure came at the end of the eighth round of the UN-sponsored talks.

UNITED NATIONS

US, Iran at odds over missile parts

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley presented what she called "undeniable" evidence on Thursday that a ballistic missile fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen at Saudi Arabia last month was Iranian-made, a charge Teheran immediately denied. The Iranian mission said the accusations leveled by Haley were intended to divert attention from the devastating war in Yemen being led by Saudi Arabia, a key US ally.

UNITED KINGDOM

Deadly tower blaze remembered

The country marked on Thursday the six-month anniversary of London's Grenfell Tower fire that claimed 71 lives, with most survivors still awaiting permanent housing. Members of the royal family including princes Charles, William and Harry joined Prime Minister Theresa May, survivors and families of the dead at a memorial in London.

TANZANIA

Giant rats sniff out tuberculosis

The use of giant rats to sniff out the potentially deadly disease tuberculosis in Tanzania is set to nearly double by the end of the year due to successful detection rates, a charity that trains them said on Thursday. The rats, which can measure up to 90 centimeters and can spot TB in samples of human mucus, were introduced as an alternative to more costly and slower traditional chemical testing.

(China Daily 12/16/2017 page11)