IN BRIEF

Pre-school attack:

6

killed in China

BEIJING—Six people were killed and one wounded in an attack at a kindergarten in southern China’s Guangdong province on Monday, a spokeswoman for the city government said.

“The victims include one teacher, two parents and three students,” she said.

She did not offer details about the identities or ages of the victims, nor the weapon used in the attack, which took place in the city of Lianjiang.

“One suspect has been arrested,” she said, adding that a police investigation was underway.

The suspect was a 25-year-old male surnamed Wu, local police said in a statement.

The incident took place around 7:40 am (2340 GMT on Sunday), the statebacked China News Network reported.

Videos shot by passersby claiming to show the crime scene were removed from video-sharing platform Douyin and Twitter-like Weibo.

While guns are strictly controlled, China has been struggling with a spate of mass stabbings.

Violent crime has been on the rise as the economy has grown in recent decades and the gap between rich and poor has widened rapidly.

Fatal attacks targeting students and schools have occurred nationwide in recent years.

The attacks have forced authorities to step up security and prompted calls for more research into the root causes of such violent acts. AFP

New Zealand hopeful on Fukushima advice

WELLINGTON—New Zealand said Monday it has “full confidence” in the UN nuclear watchdog’s advice after it approved of Japan’s plans to discharge treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Tokyo’s scheme to release treated water from the tsunami-hit nuclear plant into the sea over the next few decades would have a “negligible” radiological impact on people and the environment.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta met IAEA director general Rafael Grossi in Auckland, where she said they discussed “at length” its report on the proposed Fukushima treated water release.

“I reiterated New Zealand’s full confidence in the IAEA’s advice and commended their science-based approach,” Mahuta said in a statement.

“I also felt it was important to draw attention to the Pacific’s traumatic experience with nuclear testing and asked directly that meaningful engagement continues with the Pacific region on the proposed release.”

Japan’s plan has raised concerns among some of its neighbors. AFP