Briefly

RUSSIA

20 killed, 134 hurt in factory explosion

The death toll from an unexplained blast last week at a factory in Russia's Ryazan region has jumped to at least 20, with another 134 people injured, emergency services said on Monday. Pavel Malkov, governor of the Ryazan region that lies just southeast of Moscow, said on Friday that the incident had been triggered by a fire breaking out inside a workshop at the factory. However, it was unclear from Russian media reports what caused the fire or what the factory was producing. Official Russian sources gave no details beyond efforts to find and treat the injured. "As of Aug 18, 20 people died as a result of the emergency incident," the local emergency service headquarters said on Telegram. "There are 134 injured, of whom 31 patients are in hospitals in Ryazan and Moscow, while 103 patients are undergoing outpatient treatment."

BOLIVIA

Presidential vote heads for runoff

Bolivia's Supreme Electoral Tribunal said on Sunday that the country's presidential election will go to a runoff after no candidate secured the required majority in the first round. Preliminary results showed Rodrigo Paz Pereira of the Christian Democratic Party and Jorge Quiroga, former president and candidate of the Alianza Libre coalition, led the race with about 32.1 percent and 26.8 percent of the votes, respectively. To win the election, a presidential candidate must get more than 50 percent of the votes, or more than 40 percent of the votes while having a vote share exceeding 10 percentage points higher than that of the candidate placed second. The second round is expected on Oct 19.

MYANMAR

General election to be held on Dec 28

Myanmar is set to hold the first phase of the general election on Dec 28, the Union Election Commission said on Monday. The commission has announced Dec 28 as the date for the first phase of the multiparty general election in accordance with the constitution and relevant laws, and said the dates for subsequent phases will be announced in due course. Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing said in June that the election will be held during December and January, according to a report of state-owned daily The Global New Light of Myanmar.

Xinhua - Agencies