GREECE: More than 100 tons of dead fish was collected in and around the port of Volos, central Greece, following a mass die-off linked to extreme climate fluctuations, authorities said today.

Dead freshwater fish filled the bay, 200 miles north of Athens, and nearby rivers after water levels were swollen by floods last year, followed by months of severe drought.

The die-off has hit local businesses along the seafront with commercial activity reduced by 80 per cent in the past three days.

MALAYSIA: The search for an Indian tourist who was swallowed by a sinkhole in the capital entered a seventh day today.

Vijaya Lakshmi Gali, 48, was walking along a road in the Dang Wangi area of Kuala Lumpur on August 23 when the pavement beneath her suddenly collapsed. She plunged into the 26-foot-deep sinkhole and disappeared.

Rescuers have found no trace of her so far except her slippers.

The search operation has involved flushing through portions of the drain system, tracker dogs and radars.

BANGLADESH: The interim government has signed up to a UN international convention aimed at preventing enforced disappearances.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who took over this month as head of the government after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India amid a mass uprising, signed the accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.

There have long been accusations that during Ms Hasina’s 15-year-rule, hundreds of critics and opposition activists became the victims of enforced disappearances.

CHINA: President Xi Jinping met with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan today, ending the latter’s three-day visit aimed at keeping communications open.

“We believe that competition with China does not have to lead to conflict or confrontation. The key is responsible management through diplomacy,” Mr Sullivan told reporters.

President Xi said: “China’s commitment to the goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship remains unchanged.”