Briefly

SOUTH KOREA

Fire in office building claims at least 7 lives

A fire caused by suspected arson spread through an office building on Thursday in South Korea's Daegu city, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens, fire and police officials said. Dozens of firefighters and vehicles quickly put out the blaze, which began in the late morning on the second of a seven-floor office building near the city's district court. Seven people were confirmed dead, including an unidentified man who police suspect set the fire in a lawyer's office. At least 49 others were hurt, mostly from smoke inhalation, and 31 of them were being treated in hospitals, the Daegu Fire Department said.

JAPAN

Government eases foreign tourist ban

Japan on Friday eased its borders for foreign tourists and began accepting visa applications, but only for those on guided package tours who are willing to follow mask-wearing and other antivirus measures. Friday was the first day to start procedures needed for the entry and arrivals are not expected until late June at the earliest. The Japan Tourism Agency says tours are being accepted from 98 countries and regions, including the United States, Britain, China, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore, which are deemed as having low infection risks.

UNITED KINGDOM

Wasted protective gear to be burned

The government plans to burn billions of unusable personal protective equipment purchased in haste during the coronavirus pandemic, a public spending watchdog said on Friday. The idea of burning the masks, gowns and other equipment to generate power has not impressed the watchdog committee. The panel is investigating how the government came to spend $5 billion on protective gear that has to be dumped because it is defective or does not meet UK standards.

Agencies - Xinhua