News in Brief-(2023-08-17)

'Drunk' California judge shot wife
with one of his 47 guns
LOS ANGELES, Aug 16: A California judge charged with drunkenly killing his wife with a gun he kept in an ankle holster allegedly texted a colleague after the shooting to say "I won't be in tomorrow. I will be in custody," a court heard Tuesday. Judge Jeffrey Ferguson had dozens of guns and 26,000 rounds of ammunition at his house when officers arrived to find his wife dead from a gunshot wound to the chest, the court was told. Prosecutors said Ferguson, 72, who sits on Orange County Superior Court, smelled strongly of alcohol when he was arrested and told police, "Well, I guess I'm done for a while." — AFP
China, India want border peace
BEIJING, Aug 16: China and India agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity on the ground in the border areas, China's defence ministry said in a joint statement on the 19th round of China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting on Tuesday. Both sides had a positive, constructive and in-depth discussion on the resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC (line of actual control) in the Western Sector, the ministry said. They also agreed to resolve the remaining issues in an "expeditious manner" and maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations through military and diplomatic channels. — Reuters
Trump enjoys strong Republican support
NEW YORK, Aug 16: After every new indictment, Donald Trump has boasted that his standing among Republicans only improves-and he has a point. Nearly two-thirds of Republicans - 63% - now say they want the former president to run again, according to new polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That's up slightly from the 55% who said the same in April when Trump began facing a series of criminal charges. — AP
Mob attacks Pak churches over 'blasphemy'
LAHORE, Aug 16: Several churches were set on fire by a rampaging mob in eastern Pakistan on Wednesday after a Christian family was accused of blasphemy, officials said. Hundreds of people armed with sticks and rocks stormed the predominantly Christian area in Faisalabad city, police in the area told AFP. Images on social media showed smoke rising from the church buildings and people setting fire to furniture that had been dragged from them. The attack was triggered by a group of religious zealots accusing a local Christian family of desecrating the Quran, according to a rescue official at the scene. — AFP
25 dead after Myanmar mine landslide
YANGON, Aug 16: Rescuers have recovered 25 bodies while 14 people remain missing after a landslide at an unregulated jade mine in a remote region of Myanmar, emergency workers said Tuesday. Jade mining in Myanmar is a lucrative business but the unregulated industry is plagued with frequent worker deaths including more than 170 fatalities in the same area following a 2020 landslide. "We found 25 dead bodies in total today," a rescue worker told AFP on Tuesday, adding that 14 people were still missing and the recovery effort would continue Wednesday. — AFP
Tropical storm swelling rivers in Japan
TOKYO, Aug 16: More than 180,000 residents in a western Japanese city were urged to seek shelter on Tuesday as a tropical storm hit, swelling rivers and triggering landslide warnings. Downgraded from a typhoon, Lan roared in from the Pacific at around 5 am (2000 GMT Monday), soaking and buffeting the commercial hubs of Osaka and Kobe with strong winds as it rumbled northwards. Tottori city, which faces the Sea of Japan, issued its top-level evacuation warning to around 182,000 residents late in the afternoon, as the weather agency warned of "unprecedented" heavy rain in the region. "Lives are in danger. — AFP
17 Niger troops killed in ambush
NIAMEY, Aug 16: Niger's defence ministry said that 17 of its soldiers had been killed in an ambush on Tuesday in a southwest region bordering Burkina Faso. Attacks in Niger have been falling since 2021 but security remains a major problem, especially in the southwest near the border with neighbouring Mali. On the Malian side, the departure of French troops last year left a security vacuum that groups linked to Islamic State and Al Qaeda have expanded into. — Reuters