Off the wire
• Bayi win second title, Wuhan take women's crown in Chinese table tennis league  • Standings of WCBA League  • Roundup: Int'l experts, media hail Chinese president's congratulation on newly-launched Chinese media group  • Tibet reports robust growth in 2016  • New H7N9 case reported in east China  • Ireland confirms avian influenza H5N8  • Results of WCBA League  • 1st Ld-Writethru: China Focus: President Xi extends good wishes in New Year speech  • Syrian FM arrives in Tehran for talks  • China's movie industry grows in 2016  
You are here: 　 Home

Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Dec. 31

Xinhua, December 31, 2016 Adjust font size:

Czech police on Saturday ruled out a terrorist motive over a bomb threat on a plane which took an emergency landing in Prague.

The detained 68-year-old Polish man, who was suspected of scare mongering and endangering an aircraft, claimed that he was listening to God, according to Foreign Police spokeswoman Katerina Rendlova.(Czech-Bomb Threat)

- - - -

HOUSTON -- A passenger plane was evacuated on Friday afternoon at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport due to smoke in the cockpit.

After reporting the smoke, the pilot also requested emergency vehicles as a precaution due to the possibility of hot brakes, according to local TV station ABC13.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the incident, which occurred in the afternoon local time, saying in a statement that the plane taxied safely to the gate. (US-Plane-Evacuation)

- - - -

ISLAMABAD -- A Pakistani court in Karachi on Saturday sent 66 Indian fishermen to jail one day after their arrests for illegal fishing in Pakistani waters, court officials said.

Police told the court that the Indian fishermen were arrested for illegal fishing in Pakistani waters in the Arabia Sea. Five fishing boats of the fishermen were also seized by Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency.

(Pakistan-India-Fishermen)

- - - -

BANGKOK -- Thailand's death toll of road accidents in the first two days of New Year holidays has climbed to 113, with more than 1,000 injured, Road Safety Center reported on Saturday.

A total of 1,204 road accidents on Thursday and Friday have claimed 113 lives, resulting in 1,299 injuries, the report aid.

On Friday alone, 71 people were killed by 680 road accidents, a marked increase from the same day last year when 591 accidents claimed 65 lives.(Thailand-Road Accident)

- - - -

BAGHDAD -- The death toll from two suicide bomb attacks that hit the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Saturday, rose to 28 and 53 others injured, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

The attack occurred in the morning when a suicide bomber blew up his explosive vest at the crowded car spare part market in Sinak area, while another suicide bomber detonated himself near a post office in the same area, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.(Iraq-Blast) Endi