3 missing in Japan helicopter accident

TOKYO • Japan's military and coast guard were searching yesterday for three navy personnel who went missing along with their helicopter in a night accident, an official said.

The Maritime Self-Defence Force lost contact with the SH60J patrol helicopter carrying four crew members around 10.50pm on Saturday.

Rescuers found one of the four men and the helicopter's flight recorder shortly after it went missing in northern waters off Aomori prefecture.

The rescued man was uninjured and the helicopter issued a distress signal immediately after it lost contact, according to national broadcaster NHK.

REUTERS

Muslim cattle drivers killed in India

KOLKATA • Villagers in eastern India beat two Muslim cattle drivers to death yesterday, police said.

The drivers were transporting cows in West Bengal near the border with Bangladesh when they were stopped by villagers.

Police said it was too early to say whether the murders were motivated by religion or suspicions that the men were mistreating the cows, which are considered sacred by many Hindus.

A probe is underway into the lynching and into whether the drivers had legally purchased the cattle or smugglers were involved in the illicit beef trade.

West Bengal permits cow slaughter, unlike many Indian states where possession or consumption of beef is banned.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

China promotes Vietnam war veteran

BEIJING • China's military has promoted an army general who fought against Vietnam in a brief border war in 1979, the Defence Ministry said. It is part of a broad reshuffle that is expected ahead of the Communist Party congress to be held later this year.

In a brief statement late on Saturday, the ministry named army commander Li Zuocheng, 63, as the new chief of the Joint Staff Department of the People's Liberation Army, replacing General Fang Fenghui.

REUTERS

Philippine cop shot dead vigilante-style

MANILA • A policeman became the latest addition to the growing list of vigilante-style killings in the Philippines after he was shot dead outside a fast-food restaurant on Saturday night, reported local press.

Chief Inspector Ernesto Eco, 39, was in the news when he told reporters that policemen assigned to cover a visit by Pope Francis in 2015 had not received meal allowances. Police are still investigating the inspector's killing.

THE PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/ASIA NEWS NETWORK