IN BRIEF (Page 10)

Yemen

50 people killed in Saudi-led raids

At least 50 people, including civilians, were killed and injured in fresh Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on a village in the country's northwest province of Hajjah on Tuesday, a security official and medics said. The airstrikes targeted Harran village, which is located about 30 kilometers south of the battlefronts of the Medi desert and Haradh border crossing near the southern Saudi borders. Many of the victims were women and children. The exact number of the deaths is still not immediately clear.

India

Capital schools ordered to close

The government on Tuesday ordered the closure of all schools in capital New Delhi as pollution levels rose in the city. The air quality index in the city touched the "severe" mark as particulate matter PM2.5 breached 700 - well over double the threshold of 300 that is classed as hazardous. "All junior sections in schools across the city will remain shut on Wednesday," Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said.

Europe

10 arrested over suspected plot

Ten people suspected of using encrypted social networks to prepare a possible attack were arrested on Tuesday during counterterrorism operations in France and Switzerland aimed at clarifying details of the alleged plot, according to French officials. Counterterrorism investigators detained nine people between the ages of 18 and 65 in France and one person in Switzerland, according to a French judicial official.

Mexico

$2.5bn needed for quake rebuilding

Reconstruction in central and southern Mexico following two deadly earthquakes in September that killed 465 people will require a $2.5 billion investment, President Enrique Pena Nieto announced on Tuesday. Speaking at a public event, the president said the quakes partially or totally damaged 184,000 homes, while 14,000 businesses and 16,000 schools were also affected.

Japan

Helicopter crash claims 4 lives

Four people were killed when a helicopter crashed in Gunma Prefecture in the northwest corner of Japan's Kanto region, local media reported on Wednesday. According to local police, the helicopter crashed in the village of Ueno in Gunma Prefecture at around 2:30 pm. According to public broadcaster NHK, an eyewitness spotted the helicopter before it disappeared from view and was quoted as saying that it was flying unusually low.

Death sentence for 'Black Widow'

A court on Tuesday sentenced to death a one-time millionairess dubbed the "Black Widow", who tricked elderly lovers into drinking cyanide and pocketed millions in insurance payouts and inheritance. The woman reportedly married at least three times and had three other partners who died, all within a few years of starting relationships with her, and amassed about $8.8 million over 10 years.

(China Daily 11/09/2017 page10)