Briefly

IRAQ

Former spy chief takes oath as new premier

Iraq's former spy chief was sworn in as prime minister by lawmakers on Thursday after weeks of tense political negotiations as the country faces a severe economic crisis spurred by plummeting oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic. The majority of the 255 legislators attending the session approved the government plan and most of the ministers proposed by Mustafa al-Kadhimi, inaugurating him as Iraq's sixth premier since 2003 and ending five months of a leadership void. Legislators accepted 15 ministers and rejected five, among them those for the ministries of trade, justice, culture, agriculture and migration. The ministries of oil and foreign affairs also remain vacant pending further political negotiations.

VENEZUELA

'Mercenaries' to be tried, Maduro says

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday that two former members of US special forces captured in a failed attempt to topple him will be tried in Venezuela. Maduro said the two will be judged by the attorney-general and the country's civil courts. On Monday, Maduro said that authorities had arrested the two US citizens, named as Luke Denman and Airan Berr, among a group of "mercenaries" who launched an armed incursion on Sunday in the port of La Guaira, 30 kilometers north of the capital Caracas. Venezuelan state television on Wednesday showed the passports of the two men, who were accused of trying to topple Maduro in a plot backed by the United States.

INDIA

Chemical leak kills 9 and sickens 1,000

A chemical gas leaked from an industrial plant in southern India on Thursday, leaving people struggling to breathe and collapsing in the streets as they tried to flee. At least nine people were killed and nearly 1,000 suffered breathing difficulties and other reactions. The synthetic chemical styrene leaked from the LG Polymers plant in a city on India's Bay of Bengal coast while workers were preparing to restart the plant after the coronavirus lockdown was eased, administrator Vinay Chand said. A fire that broke out before the gas leak has been extinguished, and police said the leak was later stopped and that the air had cleared.

Agencies - Xinhua