News in Brief-(11-04-2018)

FE Team | Published: April 10, 2018 21:30:04

Indian truck crash leaves 18 labourers dead
NEW DELHI, Apr 10: At least 18 people were killed when a truck packed with labourers overturned on a winding highway in western India on Tuesday, police said. The truck hit a roadside barrier outside Khandala, a hill resort and popular tourist destination 80 kilometres (50 miles) inland from Mumbai. "The truck was definitely speeding and flipped over two, three times and crashed into a highway barrier. We have recovered 18 bodies so far," Padmakar Ghanwat, a Khandala police inspector, told the news agency. The deadly crash came just a day after 30 people, including 27 children, were killed when a school bus plunged into a ravine in the Himalayan foothills. — AFP

Malaysia elections set for May 09
KUALA LUMPUR, Apr 10: Malaysia's Election Commission says it has fixed May 9 for general elections, that could determine scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib Razak's political survival. Analysts say the move to hold the vote on a working day may reduce voter turnout that could disadvantage the opposition led by former strongman Mahathir Mohamad, Asia's longest serving leader for 22 years before he retired in 2003. The Election Commission also set an 11-day campaigning period, which was shorter than the 15 days in 2013 polls. — AP

Myanmar migrant workers die in Thailand road mishap
BANGKOK, Apr 10: At least six people, all Myanmar migrant workers, were killed and several others injured after a double-decker bus slid down into a roadside ravine in northern Thailand late Monday, Thailand's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said on Tuesday. The accident happened at about 10:50 p.m. local time on Monday. The six Myanmar nationals were among a busload of 51 Myanmar migrant workers on their way from Mae Sot district of Tak province, about 420 km north of Bangkok, to Chachoengsao province in eastern Thailand where they had been employed. — Xinhua

Japanese confirm Nonaka as world's oldest man at age 112
TOKYO, Apr 10: Masazo Nonaka from Japan was recognised Tuesday as the world's oldest man at the ripe old age of 112, as his family revealed his secret: sweets and hot baths. Nonaka, who was born on July 25, 1905 -- just months before Albert Einstein published his theory of special relativity-received a certificate from Guinness World Records at home on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido. The super centenarian lives with his family, which manages a hot springs inn. — AFP

4.7-magnitude quake hits Italy
MILAN, Apr 10: A 4.7-magnitude quake has hit an area of central Italy near Macerata which was struck by a series of powerful quakes in 2016. No deaths or injuries have been reported. Mayors in towns affected are reporting some damage from the temblor, which struck around dawn, and said that checks were under way. — AP