IN BRIEF (Page 6)

Italy

Conte wins first confidence vote

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Monday won the first of two mandatory confidence votes for his four-day-old coalition of rival parties. Each vote occurred after a day of fielding insults during a boisterous Parliament session from an opposition outraged that Italy got a new government instead of a new election. The 343-263 vote in the lower Chamber of Deputies, with three lawmakers abstaining, was the preamble to Tuesday's vote in the Senate. The vote in the upper chamber promises to be tighter, since the coalition holds only a handful votes more than needed for a simple majority, and any defections in Conte's unnatural coalition could cost him dearly. Should Conte lose, he must resign. That would make elections this fall all but certain. "I'm satisfied," Conte said of Monday's vote.

Cuba

EU supports Cuba as US hikes sanctions

The European Union is committed to helping Cuba develop its economy, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday, during a three-day trip to Havana, even as the United States hikes sanctions on Cuba. "The EU is Cuba's top commercial partner and investor, and we have tripled cooperation in the last two years," Mogherini, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, told a news conference with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez. Europe could help Cuba update its economy, said Mogherini, who also met Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Monday. Last week, the US issued new regulations limiting the remittances its citizens can send to Cuba.

Malaysia

Hundreds of schools closed over poor air

Hundreds of schools were closed in Malaysia's Sarawak state after air quality dropped due to the ongoing haze, the state Education Department said on Tuesday. The closures on the island of Borneo include 347 primary and 62 secondary schools in nine districts which serve more than 150,000 students, the department said in a statement. Air quality in several parts of the state was rated as "unhealthy" with the Air Pollution Index reading between 120 and 186 points, according to the country's Department of Environment. The schools are closed immediately if the API reading in a district rises beyond 200.

France

Shorter people run higher risk of diabetes

A study published on Tuesday found that shorter people are at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Each additional 10 centimeters in height translates into a 41 percent smaller chance of contracting the disease in men and a 33 percent smaller chance in women, according to the research in medical journal Diabetologia. The greater health risk in shorter individuals is likely linked to higher liver fat content, and a larger number of risk factors for heart disease, stroke and diabetes, the authors speculated.

Agencies - Xinhua

(China Daily Global 09/11/2019 page6)