Rules to protect kids of Chinese migrants
BEIJING • The State Council, China's Cabinet, has released guidelines on the protection of "left-behind" children, whose parents work away from home, by delineating various responsibilities for parents, the government and society.
The guidelines, signed by Premier Li Keqiang, said local governments and village committees should keep themselves informed about these children within their jurisdiction, while stressing the basic responsibility of parents.
Education authorities and schools also have an obligation to help them study and live safely.
XINHUA
KL to improve safety of public escalators
PUTRAJAYA • Malaysia's Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Dosh) said it will improve escalator safety features in public places, following the latest incident that caused a boy to lose his foot. Dosh said it would conduct a thorough study, including possible human factors that could lead to accidents.
A probe into the Feb 8 accident which caused the lower left foot of Dzil Mikhail Nasaruddin, four, to be severed, found that it was likely caused by a human error, Dosh said.
THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Afghan civilian deaths a 'record high in 2015'
KABUL • Civilian casualties from fighting in Afghanistan last year reached the highest since records began in 2009, the United Nations reported.
The violence killed 3,545 Afghans and maimed 7,457. Casualties rose 4 per cent from 2014, according to the Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
There were 21,323 recorded civilian deaths from 2009 through 2015.
The rise in casualties comes after most United States-led international forces ended their official combat mission at the start of last year.
BLOOMBERG
600 homes lost to fire in Myanmar town
YANGON • A fire has destroyed 600 houses in Myanmar's southern Tanintharyi region, a report said yesterday.
The fire was triggered by a child playing with a lit candle in Palaw town. As the village area was not accessible by fire engines, firefighters had to battle the blaze with water pumps. Property losses were estimated at 75 million kyat (S$818,000), police said.
XINHUA
