World Briefs

CHINA The death toll from an explosion at a chemical factory in eastern China has risen to five and the cause of the blast is still under investigation, state media reported yesterday. The factory that produces adhesive materials exploded on Monday night in Lijin county in Shandong province. The official Xinhua News Agency said yesterday that at least five people had been confirmed dead, citing the publicity department of Dongying city government, which administers Lijin. On Tuesday the toll was reported as one.

HONG KONG’s Land Registry recorded 5,197 sale and purchase agreements for all building units in August, down 29.2 percent on July and down 34.2 percent year-on-year, it said yesterday. The total consideration for sale and purchase agreements in August was HKD38.1 billion (USD4.9 billion), down 31.2 percent on July and down 27.3 percent year-on-year.

SINGAPORE Economists have moderated their expectations for several sectors as they are less confident about the growth outlook of Singapore economy this year, according to a quarterly survey released by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) yesterday. The economists polled in the survey said they expect Singapore’ s economy to grow by 2.2 percent this year, down from the previous forecast of 2.7 percent in the survey conducted in June.

MALAYSIA  Transparency International said yesterday that Malaysia’s fight against corruption can’t be credible unless the truth is revealed about the USD700 million found in Prime Minister Najib Razak’s personal accounts. Jose Ugaz, the president of Germany-based Transparency International, warned yesterday that Malaysia is facing a “corruption crisis” and that questions over who gave Najib the money, why and what happened to it must be answered.

IRAQ Masked men in military uniforms kidnapped 18 Turkish employees of an Ankara-based construction company in Baghdad early yesterday, bundling them into several SUVs and speeding away, Iraqi and Turkish officials said.

VATICAN CITY Pope Francis (pictured) is applying his vision of a merciful church to women who have had abortions, easing their path toward forgiveness and saying he realizes some felt they had no choice but to make “this agonizing and painful decision.” In a letter published Tuesday by the Holy See, Francis said he was allowing all rank-and-file priests to grant absolution during the Holy Year of Mercy he has proclaimed, which runs Dec. 8, 2015 until Nov. 20, 2016.