Briefly

JAPAN

Search continues for flood survivors

Tens of thousands of rescue workers in Japan on Monday combed through the wreckage of houses shattered by deadly floods and landslides in a desperate search for survivors as the death toll rose and more torrential rain loomed. At least 44 people were killed after record rains lashed areas of western Japan in the early hours of Saturday, causing rivers to break banks and flooding low-lying regions. "Rescue workers are tirelessly continuing the search this morning," a spokesman for the western Kumamoto prefecture said, with at least 13 people still unaccounted for.

UNITED STATES

Eight feared killed as two planes collide

Two bodies were recovered and six other people are believed to have been killed when two planes collided in the air and crashed into the Coeur d'Alene Lake in Idaho, police said on Sunday. "Initial reports are, there were a total of eight passengers and crew on the two planes, but that is still being verified. At this time it is believed there are no survivors," police said in a statement. The victims included adults and children. Investigators have not yet established the cause of the collision. The planes sank in nearly 40 meters of water after crashing into the lake, the statement added.

LIBYA

Raid hits base held by Turkey-backed forces

A Turkish Defense Ministry official on Sunday confirmed an overnight airstrike on the Watiya air base in Libya, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported. "The attack damaged some systems at the air base," said a Turkish Defense Ministry official, who attributed the attack to the forces of Khalifa Haftar, commander of the east-based militia groups of Libya. The attack on the base, operated by Turkey-backed Government of National Accord, came the day after Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Chief of General Staff Yasar Guler visited Libya. Since former leader Muammar Gadhafi was killed in 2011, Libya has been divided between the Tripoli-based GNA and the Libyan National Army of Haftar.

SOUTH KOREA

Court rejects US bid to extradite suspect

A court on Monday refused an extradition request by the United States for a man convicted of running a South Korea-based dark web child pornography site that sold videos for digital cash around the world. Son Jong-woo, the site's operator, completed an 18-month sentence for violating South Korean child protection laws in April but was also indicted on US federal charges in Washington. The Seoul High Court said in its ruling that it refused the extradition request because sending him to the US could hamper South Korean probes into sexually exploitative content. Officials said last year they had arrested 338 people in 12 countries linked to the network. Son's 18-month sentence contrasted with several 15-year sentences handed out to other people convicted in the US in the case.

MIDDLE EAST

Israel confirms launch of new spy satellite

Israel's Defense Ministry announced the successful launch of a new spy satellite early on Monday, giving the country what officials said was an additional tool in keeping tabs on its many threats across the region. The "Ofek 16" joins a fleet of Israeli spy satellites that have been launched over the past two decades. While officials did not identify specific threats, Iran, which Israel accuses of trying to develop nuclear weapons, is first among them. Israel does not confirm how many satellites are operational, but a senior official mentioned at least two others, the Ofek 5, launched in 2002, and the Ofek 11, launched in 2016.

Agencies - Xinhua