6.0-MAGNITUDE QUAKE HITS OFF JAPAN COAST, NO TSUNAMI WARNING

TOKYO: A 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Fukushima in Japan on Friday but there was no risk of a tsunami, officials said. The quake hit at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (six miles) at 04:59 p.m. (0759 GMT), 255 kilometers east of Ishinomaki, according to the United States Geological Survey. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake posed no tsunami risk. A 9.0-magnitude earthquake in March 2011 triggered a massive and deadly tsunami, which smashed into the Fukushima nuclear power station and sparked the world’s worst atomic accident since Chernobyl in 1986. Its operator is working to clean up and dismantle the reactors in a process that is expected to take at least four decades.

SEVEN KILLED AS INDIA MILITARY CHOPPER CRASHES

NEW DELHI: An Indian military helicopter crashed in a disputed area near the border with China on Friday, killing all seven troops on board, the army said. The Russian-made Mi-17 V5 helicopter was on a maintenance mission in the mountainous district of Tawang near the border with Tibet when it crashed. Five Indian Air Force (IAF) crewmembers and two personnel of the Indian army were killed in the crash, a spokesman told Agence FrancePresse. “A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident,” he said. Tawang is in the northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which is also claimed by China. It is a strategically important border district and came briefly under Chinese control during the 1962 war between the two neighboring countries.

GUARD BURNS SIX SMALL KIDS TO DEATH IN BRAZIL HORROR

RIO DE JANEIRO: A Brazilian nursery school guard burned six small children and a teacher to death after spraying them with alcohol and setting them alight Thursday (Friday in Manila). Dozens of people were also hurt in the blaze while the guard, who was reported to be mentally ill, died after succumbing to his own burn injuries. The tragedy occurred in Janauba, a city of 70,000 about 600 kilometers (370 miles) north of Belo Horizonte city. The nursery school was called “Innocent People.” The initial death toll of four rose to six when two badly burned kids died, according to news reports which quoted fire officials. About 50 people were hospitalized with injuries, said Bruno Ataide Santos, director of the local hospital. Janauba’s mayor decreed seven days of mourning.