Briefly

SOUTH KOREA

Samsung's pioneering chairman dies at 78

Lee Kun-hee, the Samsung Electronics chairman who transformed the small television maker into a global giant of consumer electronics, has died. He was 78. The company said Lee died on Sunday with his family members, including his only son, and de facto company chief Lee Jae-yong by his side. South Korean President Moon Jae-in will offer a floral tribute and send two senior presidential officials to console Lee's family as soon as a mourning site is established, Moon's office said in a statement. It said a personal condolence message from Moon would be conveyed to the family at the mourning site.

UNITED STATES

California on high alert for more wildfires

Some 10,500 structures have been damaged or destroyed in California since the beginning of this year, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection on Saturday. By then 31 people had died in the fires and about 16,000 square kilometers had burned, the department said. More than 5,300 firefighters had been working toward full containment on 21 wildfires in California on Saturday, 12 of which remain major incidents, officials said. The National Weather Service has issued a high-alert warning for much of northern California starting from Sunday due to extreme fire weather.

VIETNAM

Deaths from floods, landslides reach 130

The death toll from landslides, floods and other natural disasters triggered by downpours in central Vietnam since early October has climbed to 130, with another 18 people missing, the country's Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said on Sunday. About 1,500 hectares of rice fields and over 7,800 hectares of other crops have been submerged or damaged by the floods, the committee said. About 935,000 cattle and poultry animals have been killed or swept away in floodwaters.

Agencies - Xinhua