IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Japan

Boy disrupts bullet train

A boy was found walking on tracks of a Shinkansen line in western Japan on Saturday, causing up to a 90-minute delay to train services, local media reported. The boy, thought to be an elementary school student, appeared to have got onto tracks at Okayama station around 4:40 pm, according to the West Japan Railway Co. He was found about an hour later around 4 kilometers east of the station and taken into protective custody, according to the railway company.

Philippines

Halt on workers going to Kuwait

The Philippines suspended sending workers to Kuwait on Friday, a day after President Rodrigo Duterte said abuse by employers there had driven several domestic helpers to suicide.

Kuwait expressed surprise at the move and said it was in touch with Manila to try to resolve the issue. Philippine Labor Secretary Silvestre Belo said no workers would be sent "pending investigation of the causes of deaths of about six or seven of our OFWs". He did not refer to specific cases or say when the deaths took place.

Mexico

Death stats paint grim picture

Mexico saw a total of 25,339 murders last year, official data has shown, after 2017 was already established as a record-breaking year based on killings carried out until November. The interior ministry on Saturday said 2,219 people were murdered in December alone. The homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants climbed to 20.51, against 16.80 in 2016, when 20,545 were murdered.

Nigeria

Four hostages rescued by police

Four kidnapped American and Canadian nationals were rescued by local police in Nigeria's northwestern state of Kaduna early on Saturday, authorities said. The victims were ambushed last Wednesday by gunmen around Kagarko on their way from the city of Kaduna to the capital Abuja. The two policemen escorting them were killed by the kidnappers in a gun battle.

United Kingdom

Sheeran engaged to school friend

British singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran said on Saturday he is engaged to longtime friend Cherry Seaborn, whom he first met at school at the age of 11. "Got myself a fianc�� just before new year," he wrote on an Instagram photo of him and Seaborn. "We are very happy and in love, and our cats are chuffed as well xx." Seaborn studied at Duke University in North Carolina and later worked in Wall Street before transferring back to England.

Russia

Police find croc during gun raid

Russian police searching a suspect's home for a weapons stash in the northwestern city of St. Petersburg were surprised to encounter a large crocodile living in the basement, city police said on Friday. Police said a veterinary service is now looking for a new home for the animal. The crocodile "has lived here since 2005," a neighbor told local television.

(China Daily 01/22/2018 page11)