News In Brief
AFP, Beijing
Much of China shivered on Saturday as a teeth-chattering cold snap broke decades-old records and snow fell in some parts for the first time in years, cancelling flights and forcing many indoors.
An orange alert was issued across the country as forecasts predicted eye-watering lows of -41 Celsius in some parts, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said.
Dinosaur fossils found in Gujarat
AFP, Ahmedabad
A geologist said on Saturday his team has discovered what it believes are dinosaur fossils in the western Indian state of Gujarat that could be millions of years old.
The team, of 10 mainly German and Indian archaeologists and researchers, dug up the fossils during excavations in Gujarat’s marshy coastal district of Kutch, Gaurav Chauhan said.
“We have found three portions of hip bones of (a) dinosaur,” Chauhan, a geologist from Gujarat’s Kutch University and a member of the excavation team, said.
Ship sinks off Nicaragua, 13 killed
AFP, Managua
Thirteen Costa Ricans died Saturday when a small ship carrying 32 tourists from Central America and the United States sank off Nicaragua’s Little Corn Island in the Caribbean, officials said.
Nicaraguan government spokeswoman and First Lady Rosario Murillo said that “of the 32 passengers, 13 lost their lives, all of them are Costa Rican.”
Iran to buy 114 airbus planes this week
AFP, Tehran
Iran will sign a contract this week to buy 114 Airbus planes from France, during a visit to Paris by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Tehran’s transport minister said Sunday.
Abbas Akhoundi, quoted by Iranian media, said the deal “will be signed between Iran Air and Airbus” when Rouhani is in Paris on Wednesday on the final day of his first official European visit.
