Briefly

BELGIUM

4 dead as train hits school bus

A train hit a school minibus killing four people, including two children, in a "horrific accident" in northern Belgium, authorities said on Tuesday. Another five schoolchildren were injured in the crash at a railway crossing in Buggenhout, about 25 kilometers northwest of Brussels. "A tragic collision between a train and a school bus took place in Buggenhout this morning," Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot wrote on X. "Four people have been killed, including two children." The commuter train remained halted on the tracks as forensic teams examined the site. Prime Minister Bart De Wever posted on social media that he was "deeply moved by the horrific accident". "My thoughts go out to the affected families," he said.

RUSSIA

Moscow warns Kyiv after drone attack

Russia said on Monday it intended to launch "systematic strikes" on military-industrial facilities in Kyiv following a Ukrainian drone attack in Starobilsk, Lugansk, where 21 people had died. Russian forces are targeting enterprises involved in the design, production, programming and deployment of drones used by Ukraine with assistance from NATO specialists, the Defense Ministry said. Command centers and decision-making facilities would also be targeted, it said. The ministry warned foreign citizens, including diplomatic personnel and staff of international organizations, to leave Kyiv as soon as possible, and advised residents to avoid military and administrative infrastructure facilities in the capital.

SPAIN

Quarantined man tests positive for hantavirus

A Spaniard placed under quarantine after being evacuated from a cruise hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak has tested positive, the Spain's Health Ministry said on Monday. "The patient was transferred to a high-level isolation unit in the Gomez Ulla hospital, where he will remain hospitalized," the ministry said. "This does not change the level of the risk for the general population and does not change the measures of the current epidemiological response," it said. It is the second confirmed case of the hantavirus in Spain. The World Health Organization said on Saturday that 12 suspected and confirmed cases have been reported to the agency, including three deaths.

AGENCIES-XINHUA