IN BRIEF (Page 12)

United States

Pentagon authorizes $1B for border wall

Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan has authorized $1 billion to build part of the wall sought by President Donald Trump along the US-Mexico border, the first funds designated for the project under the Trump's emergency declaration. The Department of Homeland Security had asked the Pentagon to build 92 kilometers of 5.5-meter-tall fencing, construct and improve roads, and install lighting to support the emergency declaration. Trump declared a national emergency in February in order to build the wall, as it had been a promise during his 2016 presidential campaign. The move has allowed him to bypass Congress to get access to funding but sparked rounds of legal and partisan battles.

Canada

Chinese student kidnapped in garage

A Chinese citizen studying in Canada was shocked multiple times by a man with a stun gun in a violent kidnapping in the underground parking garage of his condominium north of Toronto, authorities said on Monday. York regional police said Wanzhen Lu, 22, was walking with his friend toward the elevator of his Markham, Ontario, building at around 6 pm on Saturday when a black van pulled up behind them after they got out of a Range Rover. Three men got out of the van, ambushed Lu and dragged him into the van. Police said they have found the van allegedly used in the kidnapping and are extremely worried about Lu's safety. Police are looking for four suspects.

Mozambique

UN appeals for $282M for cyclone victims

The United Nations on Monday appealed to donors for $282 million to assist victims of Cyclone Idai in Mozambique over the next three months. UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock made the appeal at a news conference along with Henrietta Fore, head of the UN Children's Fund, who had just returned from Mozambique. Thousands of displaced people are crowding in schools and in need of clean water and sanitation facilities, Fore said.

Norway

Probe into why Viking Sky set sail

Officials have opened an investigation into why a cruise ship carrying more than 1,370 people set sail along the country's often wild western coast despite storm warnings, leading to a major evacuation by helicopter. The Viking Sky had left the northern city of Tromsoe and was headed for Stavanger in southern Norway when it had engine problems and issued a call for help on Saturday afternoon. The ship anchored in heavy seas to avoid being dashed on the rocks in an area known for shipwrecks. Norwegian authorities then launched a daring rescue operation despite the high winds, eventually winching 479 passengers off the ship by helicopter in an operation that went on for hours Saturday night and into Sunday morning.

India

Auction of fugitive billionaire's collection

Indian tax authorities are hoping for a windfall with the auction on Tuesday of rare oil paintings that were once part of fugitive billionaire jeweler Nirav Modi's collection and have been seized by the government. Auctioneers said the sale is the first of its kind in a country where tax authorities have in the past auctioned property, gold and luxury items, but not art. After a court order allowing the auction to take place, tax authorities, who are pursuing Modi over the country's largest bank fraud, appointed professional auction house Saffronart. The sale in Mumbai of 68 works is expected to fetch between $4.4 million to $7.3 million.

Xinhua - AP - Reuters

(China Daily 03/27/2019 page12)