■CHINA
Quake kills one in Sichuan
A moderate earthquake struck the southwestern part of the country on Saturday, killing one person, injuring at least 11 others and collapsing some homes, the government said. The quake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale struck Sichuan Province at 5:36am, with its epicenter near the city of Suining, the Sichuan earthquake authority said. The US Geological Survey rated the quake at magnitude 5.2. State TV showed pictures of single-story homes that had collapsed into rubble. The reports indicated that dozens of homes were damaged or collapsed but did not give a precise figure.
■LIBYA
Russia to sell weapons
Tripoli struck a deal to buy Russian arms worth almost US$2 billion, Russian news agencies quoted Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as saying on Saturday. “Yesterday [Friday], a contract worth 1.3 billion euros [US$1.8 billion] was signed. It does not only involve firearms,” Putin was quoted as saying by Ria Novosti and Interfax. Putin was speaking following a meeting with the head of the Izhmash factory, which manufactures Kalashnikov rifles. Russian officials said last week that negotiations were underway with Libyan Defense Minister Younes Jaber in Moscow over the sale of Russian weapons. Putin did not specify the type of arms or military equipment involved in the deal.
■BULGARIA
Stray dogs kill zoo animals
The director of Sofia’s zoo said a pack of stray dogs killed 13 of its animals. Zoo director Ivan Ivanov said an unknown number of dogs leapt through a fence and attacked eight mouflon, four fallow deer and a doe. Ivanov said on Saturday the incident occurred last week and was the most serious in the zoo’s recent history. He said freezing temperatures and hunger had driven the dogs. Two fallow deer and one mouflon managed to escape and survived before security guards intervened. The dogs also escaped. Ivanov said that new animals of the same species have been already transported to Sofia. The zoo is the largest in the country, with 1,310 animals of 274 different species.
■IRAN
Two men hanged for rape
Criticized by rights groups for its use of capital punishment, Tehran hanged two men on Saturday for rape, a local news agency reported “The two accused were hanged today at Evin prison with blue ropes around their necks so as to serve as a lesson for all aggressors,” Fars news agency quoted the head of Tehran criminal affairs court Fakhreddin Jafarzadeh as saying. Fars said the rape was committed last year. Murder, adultery, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and apostasy — the renouncing of religion — are all punishable by death under Shariah.
■GERMANY
Three killed in snow chaos
Heavy snow and high winds have caused traffic chaos, leaving three people dead and dozens more injured. Police say one person was killed and more than 40 injured in more than 300 accidents on Friday night and Saturday in the northwestern state of North Rhine-Wesphalia alone. Two other people were killed in separate accidents on slick roads in the southern state of Bavaria. The winter weather caused long traffic jams on many highways, the closure of others, and flight delays and cancellations. In the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania all public transit was shut down in the city of Rostock as the area was hit with 30cm of new snow overnight and high winds.
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