IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Morocco

308 migrants rescued off coast

The Moroccan navy has rescued 308 migrants in the Mediterranean sea, the Moroccan army said on Saturday. While patrolling the Moroccan territorial waters, units of the navy assisted 16 inflatable boats carrying 308 illegal immigrants, including 187 sub-Saharan Africans, the same source pointed out. The migrants were brought safely to the nearest Moroccan ports and one of the boats sank right after the rescue operation, it added.

Japan

Symbol of nuclear disaster moved

One of the three floating wind turbines built off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture to symbolize the 2011 nuclear disaster recovery will be removed, a Japanese government source said at the weekend. "At present, we are considering a method of removal because the maintenance cost is too high," the source said. The power facilities representing renewable energy are the world's largest floating turbines, which were built on a floating wind farm 20 kilometers off the coast in 2015.

Germany

Govt braces for state election

Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition faces its second test in as many weeks on Sunday as voters go to the polls in the western state of Hesse for a regional election that could torpedo the national government. A survey by pollster Emnid for the newspaper showed support nationally for Merkel's conservative alliance down 1 percentage point on the week at 24 percent, with the SPD on 15 percent - sharp falls from the 32.9 percent and 20.5 percent they won respectively at last year's national election.

Jordan

Last body in flash flood identified

A pathologist says the last of 21 victims of a recent flash flood has been identified after DNA testing showed that one family inadvertently buried the wrong child. The flood, caused by heavy rains, had swept away middle school students and their teachers while they were visiting hot springs near the Dead Sea on Thursday. Twenty victims were swiftly buried, but the body of one girl could not immediately be identified.

Australia

Dip almost deadly for kangaroo

A kangaroo that hopped into the sea for a dip at a Melbourne beach had to be rescued by Australian police and brought back to life with CPR, officers said on Sunday. Two officers jumped into the water and managed to bring the marsupial, by now unconscious, back to a grassy area and resuscitate it using compressions. The wild animal was then brought to a police station and after an assessment, officers said it was "in good spirits and lucky to be alive given the amount of saltwater he inhaled".

Xinhua - Reuters - AP - AFP

(China Daily 10/29/2018 page12)