IN BRIEF (Page 12)

China Daily | Updated: 2019-10-17 08:05

SPAIN

Govt condemns clashes in Catalan streets

Spain's acting government on Tuesday issued a statement to condemning clashes in pro-independence protests in Barcelona and other Catalan cities, saying, without giving details, that its aim was and will be to guarantee security in the region. "A minority is trying to impose violence in the streets of Catalan cities," the statement said. Violent clashes erupted for a second consecutive night in Barcelona between police and protesters angry about the conviction of a dozen Catalan separatist leaders. Spain's Interior Ministry said 54 members of Catalonia's regional police force and 18 National Police officers were hurt when they engaged with protesters on Tuesday. The government also launched an investigation into an activist group organizing the protests.

SAUDI ARABIA

Pakistani PM in Riyadh after Teheran visit

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan met Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Tuesday, Saudi state media reported, two days after he visited Iran on a mission to defuse tensions between Riyadh and Teheran. Tensions have soared in the Persian Gulf region in recent months with a series of attacks on oil infrastructure and tankers which have raised fears of a war between the archrivals. Khan on Sunday held talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Teheran, where he stressed the importance of avoiding such a conflict. Tensions in the region spiked last month after the attacks on Saudi oil facilities that halved the kingdom's crude output and set oil markets alight.

AFGHANISTAN

7 servicemen die in helicopter crash

At least seven military personnel were killed when the helicopter they were traveling in crashed in the northern Afghanistan province of Balkh on Tuesday, officials said. According to the Defense Ministry, the MI-17 chopper crashed due to "technical faults". "All the seven crew members, including four pilots, were martyred in the incident," the ministry said in a statement. The helicopter had been on its way to a training mission, traveling from an army base near the provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif when it crash landed, officials said. Afghanistan has a small air force equipped with fixed-wing planes and helicopters, including aircraft acquired from the United States, the Czech Republic, India and elsewhere.

Agencies

(China Daily 10/17/2019 page12)