World briefs

HONG KONG A court on Friday disqualified four opposition lawmakers from office for having turned their oath-taking into apparent protests against Beijing, further entrenching the central government’s hold over the legislature.

INDIA A bus plunged into a 45-meter-deep gorge in the Indian portion of Kashmir yesterday, killing at least 16 Hindu pilgrims and injuring more than two dozen as they traveled to a cave shrine in the Himalayas, police said.

PARIS A boat that fuels itself is setting off around the world from Paris on a six-year journey that its designers hope will serves as a model for emissions-free energy networks of the future.

GERMAN authorities say a South Korean airliner headed for Switzerland was escorted to Stuttgart Airport by two German military jets after losing radio contact. Police said officials determined after the Boeing 777 landed safely on Saturday evening that there was a problem with the aircraft’s radio equipment.

POLAND Thousands of government opponents gathered in Warsaw and other cities in Poland yesterday to protest the latest changes in legislation that reorganized the judiciary.

EUROPEAN UNION Authorities have arrested at least 66 people in a European food scam which sold horse meat unfit for human consumption. European Union police coordinating organization Europol announced yesterday that eight nations cooperated in the operation. In Spain, 65 people face a series of charges relating to public health, money laundering and animal abuse.

SENEGAL Witnesses said at least eight people have died and more than 50 were injured after a stadium wall collapse and stampede at a football match in the Senegalese capital. Those present said fighting broke out late Saturday between rival fans of US Ouakam and Stade de Mbour and the wall at the Demba Diop stadium in Dakar collapsed as police also fired tear gas.