Briefly

EGYPT

Over 12 die after bus overturns on highway

A bus overturned on a highway linking the Egyptian capital with a Suez Canal city, killing at least 12 people and injuring 30 others, the country's state-run news agency reported on Sunday. The accident took place late on Saturday on the Cairo-Suez desert road near the city of Suez, the MENA news agency reported. The report said the bus was heading to Cairo from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh when it hit a concrete barrier and overturned. Traffic accidents kill thousands of people every year in Egypt, which has a poor transportation safety record. Crashes are mostly caused by speeding, bad roads and poor enforcement of traffic laws.

NEW ZEALAND

PM promises new law after terror attack

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that a legal loophole that allowed an Islamic State-inspired militant who carried out a supermarket attack to remain free would be closed off with new laws by the end of the month. Police shot dead 32-year-old Ahamed Samsudeen moments after he launched his stabbing spree at an Auckland supermarket on Friday. Samsudeen was known to authorities for about five years and had spent the equivalent of three years in jail over that period for offenses including possession of dangerous weapons and failing to assist police in exercising search powers. His mother said he was radicalized by neighbors from Syria and Iraq.

SPAIN

Twin giant pandas born at Madrid Zoo

Twin giant pandas were born at Madrid's zoo on Monday in a boost to conservation efforts for the vulnerable species. The pair, whose sex is yet to be determined, are the fifth and sixth cubs of Madrid's panda Hua Zui Ba and her partner Bing Xing, the zoo said. After four hours of labor, the first cub was born around 8:30 am local time, while the second followed four hours later in what the zoo described as a "peaceful" birth. Two Chinese technicians will assist local veterinarians in checking the health of the pink, hairless newborns, which will be totally dependent on their mother for the first four months of their life.

LIBYA

Gadhafi's son freed after years in jail

Al-Saadi Gadhafi, a son of Libya's late leader Muammar Gadhafi who was overthrown and killed in 2011, has been freed from jail, a Justice Ministry source confirmed on Sunday. "Al-Saadi Moamer Gadhafi has been freed from prison," following a court ruling several years ago, the source said, without saying whether he was still in the country. Several media reports on Sunday suggested Saadi, 47, had already taken a flight to Turkey. A former professional soccer player in Italy, Saadi had been held in a Tripoli prison accused of crimes committed against protesters and of the 2005 killing of Libyan soccer coach Bashir al-Rayani.

Agencies - Xinhua