Albania mourns as earthquake search for survivors continues
AFP, Thumane, Albania
Albania was in national mourning Wednesday as emergency workers continued to pull bodies from the ruins of buildings gutted by a violent earthquake, with nearly 30 found dead and hundreds injured.
Tirana declared a state of emergency in the areas hardest-hit by Tuesday’s 6.4 magnitude earthquake: the coastal city of Durres and the town of Thumane, where victims were trapped by toppled buildings.
Israeli aircraft hit Hamas site after rocket fired from Gaza
AP, Jerusalem
Israeli aircraft attacked several sites for Gaza’s Hamas rulers early Wednesday in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.
The Israeli military said the targets of the multiple airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip included a weapons manufacturing facility. There were no reports of injuries.
The airstrikes came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to “respond vigorously to any attack.”
Thailand reverses ban of chemicals use in pesticides
Reuters, Bangkok
Thailand’s government on Wednesday reversed a planned ban on glyphosate and delayed the imposition of bans on two other chemicals used as agricultural pesticides, citing adverse affects on farmers, industry and international trade.
Many local farmers groups have been staging protests opposing the ban, saying that the lack of inexpensive substitutes would harm their livelihood.
Dubai court reduces sentence for editor who killed his wife
AP, Dubai
A British newspaper editor convicted of killing his wife with a hammer has seen his sentence reduced by Dubai’s Court of Appeal.
The court ordered Wednesday that former Gulf News editor Francis Matthew must serve a seven-year sentence for manslaughter in the 2017 killing of his wife, Jane.
Matthew had received as much as a 15-year sentence for the killing. A series of appeals has seen his sentence change and his case go before Dubai’s Court of Appeal.
German tourist killed in Myanmar landmine blast
AFP, Yangon
A German tourist was killed and an Argentine woman injured in a landmine explosion in Myanmar’s eastern Shan state, local police said Wednesday, days after the country was shamed over its continuing use of the weapons.
The accident happened near the town of Hsipaw, a popular hiking spot for backpackers who often ride the scenic route by train from Mandalay to reach the mountains.
Black boxes from crashed copters found in Mali
AFP, Paris
The black boxes from two French military helicopters that collided in Mali killing 13 soldiers have been found, a French military spokesman said Wednesday.
The crash occurred on Monday during an operation against jihadists in the restive region.
