IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Venezuela

5 officials arrested over fire

Five police officials are suspected of being responsible for a fire that killed 68 people in a police station jail in Venezuela and have been detained, the nation's chief prosecutor said on Saturday. Tarek William Saab wrote on Twitter that the officials are believed "responsible for the tragic events that caused the death of 68 citizens" but provided no further details. Among the detained is Jose Luis Rodriguez, sub-director of the police station in Valencia where a fire tore through cells where about 200 prisoners were being kept.

India

Hotel collapse kills 10 people

Ten people were killed and two were injured when a four-story hotel collapsed in a crowded part of the central Indian city of Indore late on Saturday, a local police official said. Rescue operations were complete and no other casualties were likely, assistant sub-inspector Ramesh Kirade told Reuters by telephone. While the building was old, the reason for its collapse was not immediately known, Kirade said.

Libya

Navy rescues 125 migrants

The Libyan navy on Saturday rescued 125 illegal migrants en route to Europe off the coast of the city of Zuwara, 120 kilometers west of Tripoli. "As part of search and reconnaissance patrols, a distress call was received for a boat carrying migrants 25 kilometers north. One hundred and twenty five migrants of African nationalities were rescued," said Colonel Abo-Ajela Ammar, Libyan navy commander.

Syria

Army regains most of Ghouta

The Syrian army command said on Saturday it had regained most of the towns and villages in eastern Ghouta and was pressing its military operations in the last rebel bastion of Douma. In a televised statement, the Syrian army spokesman said the weeks-long military campaign had now brought security to the Syrian capital Damascus and also secured its main links to other parts of the country, stretching north and all the way to the Iraqi border to the east.

Botswana

New leader seeks diverse economy

Botswana's new president, sworn in on Sunday, said he would give priority to tackling youth unemployment and diversifying its economy. Retired teacher Mokgweetsi Masisi, took over from former army general Ian Khama. "We still seek to build a Botswana in which sustained development is underpinned by economic diversification," Masisi told a cheering crowd in parliament. Botswana, with a population of around 2 million, has a jobless rate of around 20 percent, with youth unemployment thought to be much higher.

(China Daily 04/02/2018 page12)