IN BRIEF

Zambia

Stampede kills 8 in food handouts

Zambian police said eight people have died and 28 have been injured in a stampede during food handouts at a youth center in the capital, Lusaka. Police spokeswoman Esther Katongo said the stampede happened on Monday when people forced their way into the Olympic Youth Development Center, where the distribution of food handouts was scheduled to take place. Thousands of people had been invited to the event.

Japan

Govt approves sex crime law changes

The government on Tuesday took a major step to overhaul the sex crime laws as it seeks to impose tougher penalties and make prosecutions easier. Victims and their supporters have long claimed that the current law, which took effect in 1907, is out of date and that penalties are too lenient. Under the revised law, the minimum prison term for those convicted of rape will be raised to five years from the present three.

United Kingdom

Poll: Public against Brexit without deal

Britons are against the prime minister's plans to leave the European Union without a deal if Parliament rejects the agreement struck with Brussels, according to a new poll released on Tuesday by the Independent. Last month, Theresa May's government agreed to give lawmakers a vote on the final Brexit deal before it is concluded with Brussels. May's "no deal is better than a bad deal" approach has received strong criticism.

Germany

8 on trial over terrorist claims

Eight Germans are going on trial for allegedly forming a far-right terrorist organization and carrying out bombing attacks on asylum-seeker facilities and left-wing political targets. The German news agency dpa reported that the accused, seven men and one woman between the ages of 19 and 39, allegedly formed the "Freital Group" in 2015.

Cuba

Morales to have throat surgery

Bolivian President Evo Morales said in Cuba on Monday that he would come back early next month for a "minor" surgery of his vocal cords. Morales said that he will be back in a month's time to remove a small nodule found in his throat. The operation will last "no longer than 15 minutes", he said at the airport before his departure. Morales stayed in the country for five days to check his throat infection.

Vietnam

Whooping cough cases on the rise

Vietnam's National Hospital of Pediatrics has received more than 50 whooping cough cases over the past two months, with four deaths reported, said Tran Minh Dien, the hospital deputy director on Tuesday. Dien said the number of such cases is on strong rise compared to previous years. In 2015, about 10 cases were hospitalized while that of 2016 was 12 cases.