World Briefs

CHINA Eight people died and five were injured after a fire broke out at a residential township in Beijing, Xinhua news agency reported, citing emergency services.
The blaze broke out early yesterday in a bungalow in the Sunhe Township’s Chaoyang District in east Beijing, according to Xinhua.

THAILAND A large chunk of metal that could be from an aircraft washed ashore in southern Thailand, but Malaysian authorities yesterday cautioned against speculation of a link to a Malaysia Airlines flight missing for almost two years.

USA Officials say the 26.8 inches of snow that fell in New York City’s Central Park is the second-most recorded in the city since 1869. That narrowly misses tying the previous record of 26.9 inches from February 2006. Officials began keeping records on snowfall totals in 1869.

N KOREA A China-based travel agency said Saturday an American university student recently detained by North Korea is being held over an unspecified incident at his hotel before he was scheduled to board a flight for Beijing.

ITALIAN comic Beppe Grillo is returning to the stage with a new show next month, but will continue his involvement in politics with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement that he founded.

IRELAND A Turkish Airlines jet flying from Houston to Istanbul has landed safely in Ireland after a security scare. A handwritten threat was discovered on board Turkish Airlines Flight 34 as it crossed the Atlantic Ocean overnight, according to the BBC and the Guardian newspaper.

MOLDOVA More than 15,000 people gathered in the Moldovan capital yesterday to protest against the government and demand early elections in the impoverished East European nation.

SOUTH AFRICA A mayor has awarded college scholarships to 16 young women for remaining virgins to encourage others to be “pure and focus on school,” her spokesman said yesterday.

BRAZIL  Organizers say venues used in this year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will be inspected daily during game times in a bid to prevent the spread of a mosquito-borne virus that has been linked to a rare birth defect and also a condition that can cause paralysis.