All 39 bodies in UK truck tragedy back in Vietnam
HANOI • The remains of all 39 Vietnamese found dead in a truck near London in October have been brought to Vietnam, bringing to a close a tragic saga that has devastated rural communities in the country.
The remains of 23 victims arrived at Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi early yesterday, a local government official said.
Seven of the bodies were cremated in Britain before being repatriated, the official Vietnam News Agency said.
The first 16 of the bodies were repatriated last Wednesday to their hometowns in northern-central Vietnam, where they were received by relatives and friends holding white roses.
The discovery of the bodies in the back of a refrigerated truck after being smuggled into Britain has shone a spotlight on the illicit trade that sends the poor of Asia, Africa and the Middle East on perilous journeys to the West.
REUTERS
China’s November factory activity rebounds
BEIJING • China’s November factory activity rebounded for the first time in seven months, data showed yesterday, despite the looming threat of fresh United States tariffs within weeks if Beijing and Washington fail to sign a partial trade deal.
The closely watched Purchasing Managers’ Index, a key gauge of activity in the country’s factories, rose to 50.2 last month, up from 49.3 in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The reading is slightly above the 50-point mark that separates growth and contraction every month.
A sub-index of new export orders climbed to a seven-month high at 48.8, but was still in contraction as demand wanes for China’s exports abroad.
The optimistic reading comes as Beijing and Washington edge towards a partial deal on their trade war, that has dragged on for nearly 20 months.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Fury in India over latest rape-murder case
HYDERABAD • Hundreds of people yesterday laid siege to a police station where four men are being held over the latest gruesome rape-murder to shock India.
Baton-wielding police pushed back crowds from the building in the southern city of Hyderabad where a 27-year-old veterinary doctor was said to have been gang-raped and killed before her body was burnt.
While the suspects were quickly detained, the killing sparked new outrage in a country that has been in the international spotlight over its handling of sex assaults since the brutal gang-rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus in 2012.
The police had to bring in reinforcements to bolster security around the Hyderabad police station.
The suspects were to appear before a magistrate for what was expected to be the start of “fast-track” proceedings later yesterday.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE