IN BRIEF (Page 12)

BANGLADESH

At least 15 killed in train collision

Two trains collided in eastern Bangladesh, killing at least 15 people and injuring scores on Tuesday, officials said. Local Police Chief Shayamal Kanti Das said the collision took place early on Tuesday when the Udayan Express and Turna Nishita trains approached on the same track from opposite directions in Brahmanbaria district. The area is 82 kilometers east of the capital Dhaka. Das said authorities were trying to ascertain how many were injured. Local government administrator Hayat Ud Dowlah Khan said at least 40 of the injured were being treated in hospitals, but the United News of Bangladesh agency said the number of the hurt would top 100. Train accidents are frequent in Bangladesh, many of them at unsupervised railway crossings. Poor signaling systems and the bad condition of tracks are among the factors often cited.

UKRAINE

Forces pullback in the east completed

The Ukrainian military and militia forces have completed a withdrawal of troops and weapons from an area in eastern Ukraine embroiled in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people, officials said on Monday. The disengagement near Petrivske that began on Saturday followed a recent similar withdrawal in another section of the frontline, where the two sides have been fighting since 2014. The disengagement of forces in eastern Ukraine was seen as a key step to pave the way for a summit of leaders from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany aimed at ending the conflict.

UNITED KINGDOM

Unemployment rate dips to 45-year low

British unemployment has hit a fresh 45-year low, official data showed on Tuesday in a mixed labor market snapshot before a UK general election and Brexit. The unemployment rate declined to 3.8 percent in the three months to September, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement. That was the lowest level since the final quarter of 1974, and compared with 3.9 percent in the three months to August 2019.

AFGHANISTAN

Taliban trio to go free in apparent swap

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced on Tuesday that three high-ranking Taliban prisoners would be released, in an apparent exchange for two Western hostages who were kidnapped by the insurgents in 2016. The three Taliban prisoners include Anas Haqqani, who was seized in 2014 and whose older brother is the deputy Taliban leader and head of the Haqqani network, a notorious Taliban affiliate. He did not specify the fate of the Western hostages and it was not clear when or where they would be freed. But Ghani noted in his speech that "their health has been deteriorating while in the custody of the terrorists".

JAPAN

Hayabusa-2 probe heads for Earth

Japan's Hayabusa-2 probe left its orbit around a distant asteroid and headed for Earth on Wednesday after an unprecedented mission, carrying samples that could shed light on the origins of the Solar System. The long voyage home began at 01:05 GMT, with the probe expected to drop off its precious samples some time in late 2020, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. "We expect Hayabusa-2 will provide new scientific knowledge to us," project manager Yuichi Tsuda said. The probe will bring back to Earth carbon and organic matter that will provide data as to "how the matter is scattered around the solar system, why it exists on the asteroid and how it is related to Earth", said Tsuda.

Agencies

(China Daily 11/13/2019 page12)