World Briefs

CHINA Nine people were killed and two others injured after two SUVs collided in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, according to government sources. The collision happened on a highway in Fuyuan City at about 12 a.m. yesterday. Five were killed at the scene and four died in the hospital. Two others are being treated in hospitals. The cause of the accident is being investigated.

ASEAN The United States, Japan and Australia have urged China not to construct military outposts and reclaim land in the disputed South China Sea. A joint statement by the three allies, issued late Monday, ironically fills the vacuum created by ASEAN, which during its meeting on Sunday failed to take a stand against China because of disunity among themselves.

THAILAND  The niece of an army conscript who was tortured to death by soldiers was arrested yesterday on a complaint filed by the Thai military over her internet postings, depicting photos of her uncle’s body and information about the torture he endured. She was arrested at her workplace in Bangkok on charges of criminal defamation and violating the Computer Crime Act.

INDIA An Emirates plane from Dubai to the Maldives yesterday made an emergency landing in Indian city of Mumbai, following detection of smoke in its cabin, local media reports said. Officials said 309 people were on board and all passengers were evacuated safely.

TURKEY’s opposition leader warned yesterday against a government witch hunt following the country’s failed coup, saying it would cast a shadow on the democracy that those who opposed the insurrection tried to protect. “Those who are innocent should not be thrown into the fire with those who are guilty,” said Kilicdaroglu, leader of the pro-secular opposition Republican People’s Party.

ISRAEL Police say they have arrested dozens of members of an extremist soccer fans’ group. Spokeswoman Luba Samri said yesterday that 56 suspected members of the “La Familia” group of Beitar Jerusalem fans were arrested in an overnight raid. She says stun grenades, firecrackers and other banned pyrotechnics were confiscated. An undercover agent who had infiltrated the group over the past six months led to the breakthrough.

FRANCE The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack in France that resulted in the death of an 84-year-old priest in a church. The claim came in a statement published yesterday, which said the attack near the Normandy city of Rouen was carried out by “two soldiers of the Islamic State.”