Briefly

FIJI

Two dead as super cyclone levels villages

Super cyclone Yasa flattened entire villages as it tore through Fiji, aid agencies said on Friday, with a baby among two confirmed deaths and rescue workers racing to the worst-hit communities. Yasa made landfall late on Thursday as a top-of-the-scale Category Five cyclone, lashing Fiji's second-largest island, Vanua Levu. Climate change has made cyclones stronger and more frequent, with Yasa the third maximum-strength storm to batter the Pacific island nation in five years. It triggered floods, landslides and blackouts before moving out to sea early on Friday, where it rapidly weakened to a Category Three system. Most dwellings in rural Fiji are made from timber and corrugated iron sheeting, and are not made to withstand winds like those unleashed by Yasa, which had been forecast to bring gusts of up to 345 kilometers per hour.

JAPAN

Heavy snowfall paralyzes traffic

Heavy snow brought traffic chaos to much of northwest Japan on Friday, with hundreds of vehicles stuck on blocked highways. Self-Defense Force troops were delivering food, petrol and blankets, and helping clear snow, while fire service crews rescued some drivers, including at least three people who were taken to hospital, according to public broadcaster NHK. As highway workers in hard-hit areas such as Niigata prefecture cleared snow several feet deep in places, the Meteorological Agency warned of heavier snow over the weekend along the Sea of Japan coast. Some places are bracing for as much as 80 centimeters of snow amid a cold snap that has affected much of the country.

GERMANY

Man charged over Carnival attack

A German man has been charged with 91 counts of attempted murder for driving his car into a crowd celebrating Carnival earlier this year in the central town of Volkmarsen, Frankfurt prosecutors said on Friday. The 30-year-old, whose name hasn't been released in line with German privacy laws, also faces 90 counts of causing bodily harm and other lesser crimes. He is accused of driving his car at more than 50 km/h through a crowd of people watching the town's traditional "Rose Monday" procession, which included many children, in an attempt to kill them. None died, but he injured 90, including 20 who needed hospitalization.

Xinhua - Agencies