World Briefs

CHINA Seven members of a family on a holiday outing in southern China drowned when a 17-year-old girl fell into a reservoir and several relatives dove in after her in a deadly attempt to rescue her, officials said yesterday. An official from the Guangdong province city of Shantou said the girl and six of her relatives died, including her parents and two other children, aged 13 and 15.

MALAYSIA’s police chief said that 17 suspected militants have been detained yesterday for allegedly plotting to carry out terrorist acts in Kuala Lumpur. Two of them had just returned from Syria. This brought the number of people, believed to be supporters of the Islamic State militant group, who were arrested since last year to 92.

VIETNAM Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says Vietnam is close to agreeing a free trade deal with the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union. He predicted yesterday that Russia’s annual trade with Vietnam could increase by fourfold to USD10 billion over the next five years. Medvedev is on a 2-day official visit to Vietnam and held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung.

KENYA One of the gunmen who slaughtered 148 people at a college in Kenya was identified as the law-school-educated son of a Kenyan government official, underscoring the inroads Islamic extremists have made in recruiting young people to carry out attacks against their own country.

PAKISTAN-YEMEN A Saudi-led coalition targeting Shiite rebels in Yemen has asked Pakistan to contribute soldiers, Pakistan’s defense minister said yesterday, raising the possibility of a ground offensive in the country. Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif made the comments as Pakistan’s parliament debates whether to contribute militarily to the campaign against the rebels, known as Houthis.

SYRIA Shelling and sporadic clashes struck a Palestinian refugee camp under attack by Islamic extremists in Damascus, a situation that a U.N. official described as “beyond inhumane.” Syrian government’s air force has dropped several barrel bombs on the camp since Sunday.

FRANCE French special forces yesterday freed a Dutchman held hostage since being kidnapped in 2011 by extremists in Mali, the military said. There was no immediate word on the fate of two men abducted at the same time. The military said the rescue of Sjaak Rijke took place in far northern Mali, and that several militants were captured.

USA The high-octane “Furious 7” peeled out of the gates in its opening weekend, picking up a stunning USD143.6 million from 4,004 locations to easily top the domestic box office. The expectation-shattering sum is a studio and franchise best for the homegrown car-obsessed series, which has continued to grow over the past few films. “Furious 7” is now the ninth-biggest opening of all time.