IN BRIEF (Page 11)

United States

Search on for driver after brawl death

A driver deliberately plowed a car into six people during a fight outside a hookah bar in the New York City borough of Queens in the early hours of Sunday morning, killing one person and injuring five others before fleeing the scene, police said. One of the people who was struck was in critical condition while the other four were stable, Lee Jones, a New York Police Department spokesman, said. Two other people were stabbed during the brawl, and were also in a stable condition. Police are still looking for the driver, who was driving a white Hyundai Sonata, Jones said.

Argentina

Image was fishing boat not submarine

The blurry sonar image of an object deep in the South Atlantic was a sunken fishing vessel not an Argentine submarine that went missing on Nov 15 with 44 crew members, the country's navy said on Saturday, ending hopes that the sub had been located. Rescuers had sent an unmanned Russian submersible to review the 60-meter-long object located at 477 meters below sea level. Argentina's Navy said on Thursday that it is no longer looking for survivors although a multinational operation will continue searching for the vessel.

Honduras

Curfew to curb post-vote unrest

The government imposed a curfew in efforts to curb violent demonstrations after a contentious presidential race, local media reported on Saturday. The curfew, from 6 pm to 6 am, will last for 10 days "to counter the social unrest caused by the general elections held last Sunday (Nov 26)," the daily La Prensa said. The Central American nation has been rocked by violence since the Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced that leading opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla trailed incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernandez by only 1.5 percentage points. Nasralla has accused the TSE of fraud.

Indonesia

At least 20 killed in landslides, floods

At least 20 people were killed and five others are still missing as landslides and floods struck Indonesia's East Java province, a government official from the disaster agency said on Saturday. The landslides and floods were triggered by a cyclone from the Indian Ocean which also hit other provinces. The number of people forced to leave their homes increased to 2,050 on Saturday from 1,879 a day earlier as the disasters in Pacitan district of East Java province devastated 1,709 houses, a spokesman for the national disaster management agency said.

United Kingdom

Hearing to start for Indian tycoon

Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya is set to face an extradition hearing in London that should determine whether he is sent back to India to face money laundering allegations related to the collapse of several of his businesses. The Westminster Magistrates Court hearing, which begins on Monday and is due to last about eight days, will be widely followed in India, where Mallya is known for his flashy lifestyle and lavish parties attended by fashion models and Bollywood stars. Mallya, who denies the allegations, was once hailed as India's version of British entrepreneur Richard Branson for his investments in a liquor company, an airline, a Formula One team and an Indian Premier League cricket club. The 61-year-old was also a politician for six years before resigning from the upper house of the parliament last year.

AP - Xinhua - AFP

(China Daily 12/04/2017 page11)