Hunt for quake victims ends in Albania
TIRANA, Albania -- The search and rescue operation for earthquake survivors in Albania has ended, the prime minister said Saturday, with the death toll at 51 and no more bodies believed to be in the ruins.
Prime Minister Edi Rama said preliminary figures showed more than 1,465 buildings in the capital, Tirana, and about 900 in nearby Durres were seriously damaged in Tuesday's 6.4 magnitude pre-dawn quake.
About 2,000 people were injured.
A woman in Tirana who had been in a coma died, the Health Ministry said Saturday. Local media reported the 20-year-old was injured by a falling brick while leaving her apartment.
In Durres, hundreds of residents, as well as Rama and President Ilir Meta, attended the funeral of nine members of a single extended family who were killed when a four-story villa collapsed. One young man survived and has been sent to Italy for medical treatment.
Preliminary figures estimate at least 4,000 people are homeless. About 2,500 people from damaged homes have been sheltered in hotels. Others have been taken to neighboring Kosovo or have moved to eastern areas of Albania.
Man held in teen stabbings in The Hague
THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Dutch police arrested a 35-year-old homeless man Saturday on suspicion of stabbing three teens on a street in The Hague that was crowded with Black Friday shoppers.
The man, whose identity wasn't released, was detained in The Hague early Saturday evening and taken to a police station for questioning, police spokeswoman Marije Kuiper said.
The victims, two 15-year-old girls and a 13-year-old boy, were treated in a hospital and released late Friday. Police said in a statement that the youths didn't know one another. The victims have spoken to detectives.
Earlier, police said they were "using all our available means -- visible and unseen -- to find the suspect in this stabbing as soon as possible" and appealed for witnesses.
That included studying video footage from the area, where many surveillance cameras are located.
Dutch police say the motive for the stabbing in The Hague remains unknown. "We are keeping all scenarios open," their statement said.
The stabbing occurred Friday evening in an area teeming with shoppers and close to the city's most popular nightlife centers.
Police cordoned off the area until deep into the night as forensics experts combed the street for clues.
Last of 39 smuggling-case bodies home
DO THANH, Vietnam -- The last remains of the 39 Vietnamese who died while being smuggled in a truck to England in October were repatriated to their home country Saturday.
Photos by the official Vietnam News Agency showed the arrival at the Hanoi airport of 16 bodies and seven urns, which had been flown from London.
They were loaded into ambulances for the trip to their hometowns in several provinces in northern and central Vietnam.
The bodies were found Oct. 23 in the English town of Grays, east of London. Police said the victims were between 15 and 44 years old. While no cause of death has been officially established, the circumstances suggested asphyxiation.
The 31 men and eight women are believed to have paid human traffickers for their transit into England. Several suspects have been arrested in the U.K. and Vietnam.
Shortly after noon Saturday, the body of one victim, 19-year-old Bui Thi Nhung, arrived at Phu Tang church in the village of Do Thanh.
More than 100 Catholic villagers and family members waited for the body's arrival at a highway leading to the village. They held white flowers, standing by the side of the road as the ambulance carrying the body passed.
After 15 minutes at the church, the mourners moved to Nhung's home nearby. One of Nhung's nieces held her portrait to lead the procession.
The first 16 bodies were handed over to their families Wednesday, and funerals were held the following day.
1,400 pounds of meth seized in Spain
MADRID -- Spanish police say they have made their biggest seizure of methamphetamine, taking 1,400 pounds in a raid near Barcelona.
Police said in a statement Saturday that the drug, in a form known as crystal meth, was being stored for distribution to other parts of Europe.
The statement said authorities arrested two people in Spain and four elsewhere in Europe after an international police operation.
Police also found about 1,000 marijuana plants that they said were being grown by the same gang at another location.
The statement gave no further details, saying the investigation is continuing.
A Section on 12/01/2019