IN BRIEF (Page 12)

India

Transformer blast death toll rises

The death toll in a transformer blast explosion in the western state of Rajasthan rose to 14, officials said on Wednesday. Seven people are undergoing treatment in hospital. The blast took place on Tuesday near Jaipur city, the capital of Rajasthan. According to officials, the transformer exploded while people had gathered for a marriage function.

Japan

Suspect in grisly killings questioned

A man police said confessed to killing and dismembering nine bodies found in his apartment was handed over to prosecutors for further questioning on Wednesday as more chilling details emerged. The questioning was a procedure before formal indictment. So far, Takahiro Shiraishi, 27, only faces a possible charge of abandoning bodies, but police are expected to seek murder and dismembering charges as well.

United States

Govt to defend Cuba embargo

The US government will defend its decades-old economic embargo on Cuba in a United Nations vote this week, the State Department said on Tuesday, in a reversal of the Barack Obama administration policy that reflects deteriorating US-Cuban relations. Every year the UN votes to condemn the embargo, and for years the US has voted "no".

Russia

Mass seal deaths in Lake Baikal

Around 130 dead seals have washed up on the shores of Lake Baikal, authorities said on Tuesday, as they launched a probe into the latest problem to hit the world's deepest lake. The Baikal seal is the smallest in the world, and exactly how and when the species colonized the ancient Siberian lake is still a mystery. Scientists have taken biopsies of the animals.

Xinhua - Ap - Afp

(China Daily 11/02/2017 page12)