IN BRIEF (Page 9)

Jetpack nears liftoff as inventor stays grounded

Glenn Martin was sitting in a bar with his college buddies 35 years ago when they got to wondering: What ever happened to flying cars and jetpacks?

About the device

WHAT IS A JETPACK, EXACTLY?

Voters overwhelmingly reject Ukraine deal

Dutch voters have overwhelmingly rejected a treaty on closer political and economic ties between the European Union and Ukraine in a rebuke to their government and to the EU establishment.

Nguyen Xuan Phuc elected as new prime minister

Vietnam's Parliament approved a new prime minister on Thursday, handing former bureaucrat and legislator Nguyen Xuan Phuc the challenge of maintaining the momentum of one of Asia's fastest-growing economies.

Syrian refugees seek new life in US

The first Syrian family to be resettled in the United States under a speeded-up "surge operation" for refugees left Jordan on Wednesday and arrived in Kansas City, Missouri, to start a new life.

Smog-alert car ban jams metro and buses

Mexico City residents packed buses and subway trains and many walked or biked to work Wednesday as authorities barred millions of vehicles from the streets due to a pollution alert.

IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Attackers in Bangladesh wielding machetes killed a liberal blogger, police said on Thursday, the latest in series of murders of secular activists by suspected Islamist militants.

Mystery deepens over Zika infections

Top Zika investigators now believe that the birth defect microcephaly and the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome may be just the most obvious maladies caused by the mosquito-borne virus.

Elder care may spark shortage of workers

The Japanese Trade Union Confederation said Japan could face a labor shortage as an increasing number of employees mull quitting work to take care of elderly relatives, as Japan's graying population continues to skyrocket, local media reported on Wednesday.

Life story, dad's legacy lifts candidate

Her life story could have come straight out of a soap opera. As a newborn, Grace Poe was abandoned in a Catholic church and adopted by movie star parents, giving her a powerful narrative and name that have helped catapult her to front-runner in the Philippine presidential race.

Displaced find warm meals at shrine

They line up daily by the dozens in the breezy courtyard of a mosque just outside the Iraqi city of Irbil's main bazaar - displaced people from across Iraq, hoping for a hot meal.