News in Brief --(3-02-2018)

Five die after two army copters collide in France

MARSEILLE, Feb 02: Five people were killed Friday after two army training helicopters crashed into each other near a lake in southern France, police said. The collision took place near Carces lake about 50 kilometres (30 miles) northwest of the resort of Saint-Tropez. "The helicopters collided. There were three army personnel in one and two in the other. All are dead," police said in the nearby town of Brignoles, adding that one body was still to be recovered from the wreckage. — AFP

UN asks Myanmar to release Reuters journos

GENEVA, Feb 02: The United Nations (UN) human rights office called on Myanmar authorities on Friday to release two detained Reuters journalists, a day after they were denied bail. "We repeat the calls for their immediate release and for the charges to be dropped," UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a Geneva news briefing. "We are alarmed at the serious erosion of freedom of expression in Myanmar." — Reuters

Police arrest 12-year-old over Los Angeles shooting

LOS ANGELES, Feb 02: Five people were wounded, including a student shot in the head, when a gun went off in a Los Angeles middle school classroom on Thursday, and a 12-year-old girl was taken into custody, police said. The girl, whose name was not released, was booked at a juvenile detention facility on a charge of negligent discharge of a firearm, said Officer Tony Im of the Los Angeles Police Department. Im declined to say if investigators believed the girl deliberately opened fire at Sal Castro Middle School near the city's downtown district. Mayor Eric Garcetti told local KABC-TV at the scene that it was unclear if the shooting was accidental. — Reuters

Cambodia endorses law to protect king's honour

PHNOM PENH, Feb 02: Cambodia's Cabinet has endorsed a law making insulting the king a criminal offense punishable by monetary fines and up to five years in prison. After Friday's endorsement, the law must go to both houses of Parliament for approval. A government statement says the law is needed to protect the honour and reputation of the monarch. The 64-year-old King Norodom Sihamoni is a constitutional monarch who maintains a low profile and plays a minimal role in public affairs, while Prime Minister Hun Sen exercises almost absolute control over politics. — AP

Court orders Nicaragua to pay $379,000 to Costa Rica

THE HAGUE, Feb 02: The UN's highest court on Friday ordered Nicaragua to pay less than $380,000 to Costa Rica in compensation for damaging protected wetlands on the river San Juan. The sum was well below the $6.7 million demanded by Costa Rica for the environmental harm done to the area, and to compensate its efforts to restore it. "The court concludes that the total amount of compensation to be awarded to Costa Rica is $378,890.59," judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf told the International Court of Justice (ICJ). — AFP

Death toll from S Korea hospital fire hits 40

SEOUL, Feb 02: The death toll from a devastating hospital fire in South Korea rose to 40 after an elderly man died on Friday, officials said. The 81-year-old died at a nearby hospital in Miryang where he had been in critical condition, a city government spokeswoman said. He had been on the second floor of the Sejong hospital and inhaled toxic smoke when fire ripped through the building a week ago, she added. — Reuters