IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Cyprus

Chinese killed in boat accident

Police said a woman originally from China has been killed in a speedboat accident in a remote corner of the island. A Greek Cypriot man was driving the boat when the accident occurred off the coast of the Akamas nature reserve on the island's northwestern tip. The state-run Cyprus News Agency said the boat driver suffered a spinal cord injury. It identified the dead woman as a 32-year-old who lived in Cyprus.

Sri Lanka

Dengue outbreak claims 300 lives

The number of dengue cases has gone up to 105,000 in Sri Lanka with more than 300 deaths, the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society said on Tuesday. The Red Cross said that it is rapidly scaling up emergency assistance to help contain one of the country's worst outbreak of dengue in recent times. The number of cases this year is nearly double the number of dengue infections recorded in all of last year, when 55,150 people were diagnosed with the disease.

United States

Deportation halted for 1,400 Iraqis

A judge in Michigan halted on Monday the deportation of more than 1,400 Iraqi nationals from the United States, the latest legal victory for the Iraqi nationals facing deportation in a closely watched case. Roughly 230 people are in custody. The remaining 1,200 are not locked up but could be arrested at any time. There was no immediate response by the Justice Department.

Thailand

Yingluck's bank accounts frozen

Authorities have frozen seven bank accounts belonging to ex-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra over a $1 billion fine she faces for her administration's controversial rice subsidy scheme, her lawyer said on Tuesday. She is already facing up to a decade in jail for allegedly failing to stop graft in the subsidy program that targeted her party's rural farming base.

South Korea

Court TV ban lifted before sentencing

The Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted a ban on the filming of trials, opening the possibility of live TV coverage of the sentencing of disgraced president Park Geun-hye and Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong. At a rare meeting of justices presided over by Chief Justice Yang Sung-Tae, the court adopted new regulations on filming of trials, effective on Aug 1.

Indonesia

Agency warns of forest fires

The disaster mitigation agency has warned of an escalating threat of forest fires with the dry season expected to peak in coming months, while hot spots detected in the province of Aceh have already been causing choking smoke. Indonesia is regularly hit by forest fires, which can result in choking smoke blowing across to neighboring countries like Singapore and Malaysia.

(China Daily 07/26/2017 page12)