IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Japan

US Marines send F-35 fighter jets

The US Marine Corps said on Tuesday it has sent a squadron of F-35B fighter jets to Japan, marking the first operational overseas deployment for the controversial aircraft that is under scrutiny from president-elect Donald Trump. The deployment of the 10 planes to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni on Honshu Island marks a major milestone for the F-35, which has been bedeviled by technical glitches and has so far cost $379 billion for a total of 2,443 F-35 aircraft.

United States

Ban's relatives in bribe probe

Two relatives of former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon were charged in an indictment unsealed on Tuesday with plotting to bribe a Middle East official to influence the $800 million sale of a building complex in Vietnam. Ban's nephew, Joo Hyun-bahn, was released on $250,000 bail over the objections of prosecutors. Though charged, Bahn's father, Ban Ki-sang, was not in custody.

LA home for Lucas museum

Star Wars filmmaker George Lucas has settled on Los Angeles for the home of his $1 billion storytelling museum, after pulling the project from Chicago last year. The proposed museum, valued at $1 billion and funded by Lucas, would feature exhibitions of Lucas' collection of paintings, illustrations and digital art from the blockbuster Star Wars movie franchise he started in 1977.

South Korea

Samsung scion to be questioned

South Korean authorities said on Wednesday that a Samsung scion will be questioned as a suspect in a bribery case in the massive influence-peddling scandal that led to the impeachment of the president. Lee Jae-yong, Samsung Electronics' vice chairman, will be summoned to face questions by investigators probing whether South Korea's largest business group bribed a jailed confidante of Park Geun-hye to win favors.

Vietnam

Survey highlights dental problems

More than 90 percent of Vietnamese suffer from dental diseases, according to the National Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology on Wednesday. A survey showed that some 85 percent of Vietnamese children aged 6 to 8 have decayed baby teeth, while 54.6 percent in the 9-11 age group have permanent tooth decay, local online newspaper Vietnam News quoted the survey as saying.

Australia

20 trapped on roller coaster

Twenty people were trapped for almost two hours at the top of a roller coaster ride at a theme park on Australia's Gold Coast on Wednesday, only a few months after an accident on a neighboring theme park ride killed four people. Most were easily rescued, but four could only be reached by emergency personnel using a ladder platform.

(China Daily 01/12/2017 page12)