News in Brief- (13-11-2018)

Putin discusses many

issues with Trump

MOSCOW, Nov 12: Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had a brief but good conversation with US leader Donald Trump at World War I centenary events in Paris, Russian media reported. The French presidency said the pair had a wide-ranging discussion during lunch after the commemoration. Host and French President Emmanuel Macron was there and German Chancellor Angela Merkel took part in some of the exchanges, the presidency said. — AFP

Iranians fear medicine

shortages for sanctions

TEHRAN, Nov 12: Anxieties over the availability of medicine are mounting in Iran with the re-imposition this month of sanctions by the United States after President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal. The strain was evident in one Alireza Karimi's voice as he described his struggle to obtain the diazoxide pills his father needs to lower insulin levels and fight pancreatic cancer. The medicine has to be imported, and until recently that was not a problem. But for the past three months, Karimi has not been able to find it any place, and there is now only one bottle left. — New York Times

China warehouse blast kills six

JINAN, Nov 12: Six people were killed and five others were injured Monday as an explosion ripped through a factory warehouse in east China's Shandong Province, local authorities said. The explosion took place at about 10 a.m. at Huifeng Carbon Plant in Kongcun Township of Pingyin County, the county government said. An investigation into the cause of the accident is under way. — Xinhua

Singapore, Malaysia renew ties

SINGAPORE CITY, Nov 12: Singapore's leader vowed on Monday to strengthen ties with Malaysia, which is now led by a historic rival following a game-changing election. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said during a visit by his Malaysian counterpart, Mahathir Mohamad, that the countries had a "special bond" and were each other's second-biggest trading partners. — AP