Briefly

FRANCE

11 hurt after car hits crowd at kite festival

Eleven people were injured, four seriously, after a car plowed into a crowd at an international kite-flying festival in northern France on Saturday, officials said. The accident was caused by a 76-year-old driver who "confused the accelerator and brake pedals", a statement from the local prosecutor's office said. The accident happened in the early evening at the seaside town of Berck-sur-Mer where hundreds of thousands of people gather each year for the festival. Four women were being treated for life-threatening head injuries in intensive care, the emergency services and local officials said. The driver, who suffered minor injuries in the accident, faces a possible charge of causing injuries unintentionally.

UNITED KINGDOM

Deputy PM resigns over bullying allegations

British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab resigned on Friday, a day after an independent report into allegations that he bullied staff members while working at several government departments reached the desk of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. An inquiry was requested by Raab in November last year following formal complaints about his bullying behavior when dealing with civil servants. Sunak appointed senior employment lawyer Adam Tolley to lead an independent investigation. Raab "humiliated" and "intimidated" civil servants, the report said, which was published in full on the government website on Friday.

Xinhua - Agencies