Foreign students die in Seattle bus crash
SEATTLE • A school bus carrying international students collided with a tour vehicle in the US West Coast city of Seattle on Thursday, killing at least four people and critically injuring 15 others, officials said.
Images of the fiery accident on a busy bridge showed extensive damage to the left side of the bus, part of which was completely sheared off by the force of the crash.
Spokesman for North Seattle College Melissa Mixon said that 45 students and staff with the school's international programme were on board the bus. Local news reports said the four killed were all students. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Dutch hope to buy paintings for $254m
THE HAGUE • The Dutch government is still counting on bringing two rare Rembrandts back to the Netherlands despite an offer by France to buy one of them, officials said yesterday.
The two full-length portraits of a young couple painted by the Dutch master shortly before their wedding in 1634 have been owned by the wealthy Rothschild banking family since the mid-19th century and have rarely been seen in public.
On Monday, Dutch Culture Minister Jet Bussemaker revealed that the Dutch government was willing to stump up half the €160 million (S$254 million) price tag, with the remaining €80 million to be found by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Quickly implement bailout deal: Greek PM
ATHENS • Greece must "quickly implement" the terms of a tough European Union (EU) bailout agreed in July, newly re-elected left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said yesterday.
"We face the obligation to quickly implement what has been agreed," Mr Tsipras told his new government's inaugural Cabinet meeting.
In the closing days of Mr Tsipras' last administration, Athens signed up to more tax hikes and public spending cuts in return for a three-year, €86 billion (S$137 billion) EU bailout.
Stonewalling creditor proposals with an anti-austerity referendum in July, the 41-year-old leader brought Greece to the brink of exiting the euro zone before backing down.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
