News in Brief- (23-10-2018)

Swim team braves pollution
to dive into waters
BEIT LAHIA, Palestinian Territories, Oct 22: On one of the world's most polluted coastlines, 30 young Palestinians dive head first into the sea off the Gaza Strip, their minds filled with dreams of Olympic glory. Aged between 11 and 16, they make up a rare swimming club in the Palestinian enclave, and perhaps its only mixed-sex one. Coach Amjad Tantish talks through a warm-up before they race from the trash-strewn beach into the sea as he continues to bark instructions. —AFP
Israeli soldier kills Palestinian
JERUSALEM, Oct 22: A Palestinian man attacked an Israeli soldier near a holy site in the southern West Bank city of Hebron before being shot dead, the army said on Monday. "An assailant attempted to stab a soldier adjacent to the Cave of the Patriarchs, lightly injuring him. The soldier and other forces at the scene, responded with live fire," the army said in a statement, confirming the assailant was Palestinian and dead. — AFP
Morrison seeks apology to victims
of child sexual abuse
SYDNEY, Oct 22: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has given a national apology to victims of child sexual abuse. Hundreds of people gathered in Canberra on Monday to hear Mr Morrison deliver the emotional address in parliament. It follows a five-year inquiry which found tens of thousands of children had suffered abuse in the nation's institutions over decades. — BBC
Quake strikes near Port Hardy
PORT HARDY, Oct 22: A powerful magnitude 6.6 earthquake has been reported near Vancouver Island, Canada. The U.S. Geological Survey says the powerful quake's depth is about 6 miles (10 kilometers) and it struck Sunday evening about 161 miles (259 kilometres) west of Tofino, Canada. — AP