Briefly

UNITED STATES

Stampede in New York leaves 2 dead, 8 injured

A stampede that took place after a concert in Rochester, New York, on Sunday night left two dead and eight injured, media reports said on Monday. Local police found three women badly injured in the stampede, two of whom have died, with the third remaining in critical condition, according to local police. Besides the three women, seven others from the event were taken to hospitals with injuries that were not life-threatening. Grammy-nominated rapper GloRilla performed at Rochester's Main Street Armory, which has a seating capacity of 5,000.

IRAQ

Pentagon chief makes unannounced trip

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced trip to Iraq on Tuesday in a visit an official said was aimed at showing that Washington was committed to keeping its military presence there nearly 20 years after the US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein. The 2003 invasion killed tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians and led to instability that eventually paved the way for the rise of Islamic State militants after the US withdrew its forces in 2011. Austin, the most senior official in US President Joe Biden's administration to visit Iraq, was the last commanding general of US forces there after the invasion. The United States currently has 2,500 troops in Iraq.

JAPAN

New rocket destroyed after engine failure

Japan's new medium-lift rocket failed on its debut flight in space on Tuesday after the launcher's second-stage engine did not ignite as planned, in a blow to its efforts to cut the cost of accessing space and competing with Elon Musk's SpaceX. The 57-meter-tall H3 rocket, Japan's first new model in three decades, lifted off without a hitch from the Tanegashima Space Center, a live-streamed broadcast by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency showed. But upon reaching space, the rocket's second-stage engine failed to ignite, forcing mission officials to manually destroy the vehicle 14 minutes into the flight.

MIDDLE EAST

Israeli settlers clash with Palestinians

Israeli settlers and Palestinians clashed overnight on Monday near the West Bank village of Huwara, the scene of a violent rampage last week by dozens of settlers seeking revenge for the shooting of two Israeli brothers. Israeli army and border police forces dispersed crowds in what the military described as "a number of violent riots" near Huwara overnight and videos shared on social media showed a group of black-clad youths attacking a Palestinian car before its driver managed to pull away.

Agencies - Xinhua