World Briefs

CHINA A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck a remote region of northwest China early yesterday, damaging a few dozen homes but causing no casualties. Xinhua News Agency said the epicenter of the 1:13 a.m. quake was in an unpopulated area about 33 kilometers from the county seat of Menyuan in Qinghai province. The quake caused cracks in about 20 homes and other damage in more than 30 others.

CHINA Now that China has abandoned its decades-long one-child policy, demand for maternity services is expected to grow as women take advantage of the chance to have a second child. A school in Beijing is anticipating this trend by offering new training for high-end maternity matron services.

INDONESIA breaks ground on a joint project with China to build Southeast Asia’s first high speed rail service, linking the Indonesian capital Jakarta with Bandung in western Java.

CAMBODIA The head of a 7th century statue of a Hindu deity was returned by France and reattached to its body for display at a Cambodian museum, more than 130 years after it was spirited away. The stone sculpture depicts Harihara, a deity that combines aspects of Vishnu and Shiva, the most important gods in the Hindu pantheon who represent the creation of the universe and its destruction.

INDIA-FRANCE India is tightening security with extra paramilitary soldiers and police deployed across the capital after a French consulate in southern India received a letter warning against the visit of French President Francois Hollande.

INDIA The media say a millionaire has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his security guard last year by mowing him down with his luxury SUV in a rage.

AFGHANISTAN A deadly Taliban attack on a bus carrying employees of Afghanistan’s biggest TV station draws widespread condemnation, with activists denouncing it as an attack on freedom of speech and the country’s young and fragile media sector.

PAKISTAN People bury their dead and observe a day of nationwide mourning following a brazen attack by Islamic militants who stormed a northwestern university on Wednesday, gunning down students and teachers and spreading terror.

AUSTRALIA An animal handler is injured when a Sumatran tiger swipes him with claws at an Australian zoo owned by the family of “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin.

USA Drivers in the Washington area spent hours in icy gridlock ahead of heavy snowfall that’s predicted to arrive by the weekend from the Appalachian Mountains to Philadelphia and maybe farther north. Yesterday, Virginia governor issued a state of emergency and said people should “take the threat of this storm seriously.”

KENYA Police say they have killed four men described as most-wanted extremist suspects whose names were released to the public in December. The shootout happened in the coastal town of Malindi. One of the victims is Suleiman Mohammed Awadh, who was wanted for his alleged role in several Islamic extremist attacks, including the mass killings on a college campus in Garissa in April.

BAHRAIN State-run Gulf Air announced yesterday it will purchase 19 new Airbus aircraft worth a listed value of USD2.35 billion, part of its effort to compete in the region’s race between carriers.