World News Quick Take

An Indian tourist was killed and a New Zealand national injured when two helicopters collided and crashed while attempting to land in the Everest region yesterday, police said. The small helicopters operated by Fishtail Air and Air Dynasty crashed into each other as both came in to land on a snowy site in Solukhumbu District yesterday morning. “The 47-year-old Indian tourist died on the spot,” said Nabin Raja Budhathoki, in charge of Solukhumbu District Police. “The injured 53-year-old citizen ... from New Zealand has been airlifted to Kathmandu for further treatment,” he added. Arrangements were also being made to airlift the body of the deceased to the capital, Kathmandu. Both of the pilots survived the accident.

INDIA

Commandos recapture ship

Indian naval commandos parachuted onto a hijacked Iranian fishing vessel off Somalia to rescue all 20 crewmembers from armed pirates, the navy said yesterday. Somalian piracy has seen a resurgence, with at least 15 attacks reported since April, the highest number since 2013. The vessel, Azini, was seized on Thursday off the Somalian coast, between the coastal towns of Bandar Beyla and Xaafun in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, an alert from the EU’s Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean said. A warship and a maritime reconnaissance aircraft tracked the vessel before marine commandos were parachuted in to carry out the rescue, the navy said in a statement. Azini was the third Iranian fishing boat to have been hijacked off Somalia’s coast since July.

UNITED STATES

NY reports measles death

A child in Lewis County, New York, died after contracting measles, marking the state’s first death linked to the disease in 30 years, authorities said on Monday. “I am heartbroken to learn that a child in Lewis County has died after contracting measles,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement. “As a mother and grandmother, I cannot imagine what this family is going through.” Hochul, a Democrat, said it was “a devastating reminder of what’s at stake when Washington deliberately erodes decades of progress in protecting Americans from preventable illnesses.” The nation is facing its worst measles outbreak in 35 years. As of Thursday, there were 4,834 cases reported in 47 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Hochul declared a disaster emergency in New York last month, following measles outbreaks in the state and neighboring states. Measles was declared eradicated in the nation in 2000, but it has made a comeback in recent years as vaccine skepticism rises alongside a growing mistrust of health authorities.

JAPAN

Stolen luxury watch returned

A Swiss luxury watch worth about US$290,000 that was stolen from a Tokyo store last week has been returned with an apology note, media reports said. The theft occurred when a man posing as a customer tried on the Audemars Piguet timepiece and then fled the shop while it was still on his wrist. However, the case took a twist when the store received a package containing the watch — and a handwritten note saying sorry, the Asahi Shimbun and other media reported on Monday, citing unnamed investigative sources. The watch’s serial number identified it as the stolen item. The shop declined to comment when contacted by reporters. Tokyo police are still searching for the man on suspicion of theft, Asahi Shimbun said.