Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, July 2

LONDON– Britain’s main opposition Labour Party retained a House of Commons seat in the West Yorkshire constituency after winning the by-election in Batley and Spen by a narrow margin on Friday. Labour candidate Kim Leadbeater received 13,296 votes, a majority of just 323 votes over Conservative candidate Ryan Stephenson. BUCHAREST– One person was confirmed…

ISLAMABAD — A toy bomb blast in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province left three children dead on Friday, said police.

A group of children found a toy-like explosive device near their house in the Mehsud Keruna area of Tank district of the province and were playing with the toy when it exploded, police sources in the area told Xinhua.

(Pakistan-Blast)

– – – –

LONDON — Britain’s main opposition Labour Party retained a House of Commons (the lower house of the British Parliament) seat in the West Yorkshire constituency after winning the by-election in Batley and Spen by a narrow margin on Friday.

Labour candidate Kim Leadbeater received 13,296 votes, a majority of just 323 votes over Conservative candidate Ryan Stephenson. George Galloway, leader of the British Workers Party, came third with 8,264 votes. (Britain-Election)

– – – –

BUCHAREST — One person was confirmed dead in an explosion that occurred Friday at the Petromidia Refinery in Navodari, southeastern Romania, followed by a fire that has not yet been extinguished.

An employee was found dead after the explosion at the Petromidia Refinery, announced Silviu Cosa, prefect of Constanta County, where the refinery is located. (Romania-Explosion)

– – – –

LUSAKA — Zambia on Friday held a grand funeral for the country’s first President Kenneth Kaunda.

Held at the Show Grounds, a venue for holding agricultural and commercial shows in Lusaka, the country’s capital, the state funeral attracted hundreds of people, including leaders from different parts of the world. (Zambia-Funeral) Enditem