IN BRIEF (Page 12)

United Kingdom

Minister suggests levy after Brexit

Britain's Minister of State for Immigration Robert Goodwill on Wednesday proposed a levy of a 1,000 pounds ($1,220) a year on skilled workers in the European Union employed by British companies after Brexit. Goodwill said at a House of Lords committee that "immigration skills levy" could be introduced for EU migrants and would "be helpful to British workers who feel they are overlooked" in favor of migrants, according to the Guardian. The idea sparked fury among employers and provoked an immediate business backlash.

Afghanistan

Hostages appear in Taliban video

A US citizen and an Australian citizen have appeared in a Taliban hostage video, five months after they were kidnapped from Kabul. Gunmen wearing police uniforms abducted the two professors at the American University of Afghanistan in the heart of the Afghan capital on Aug 7, seizing them from their vehicle after smashing the passenger window. The video circulated by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Wednesday offers the first apparent proof that they were still alive.

Russia

US military build-up in Poland a 'threat'

The Kremlin said on Thursday it was concerned by what it described as a US military build-up in Poland, saying the move represented a threat to its national security. Addressing reporters on a conference call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia regarded the move as an aggressive step along its borders.

United States

Bee placed on endangered list

US officials for the first time have placed a bee found in the continental United States on the endangered species list. Authorities said on Wednesday the move was taken after a precipitous decline in the rusty patched bumblebee population, due to pesticides, disease and climate change. These once common bumblebees are now "balancing precariously on the brink of extinction," said a statement from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Australia

Father, daughter spend month at sea

A man and his 6-year old daughter missing at sea for more than a month have landed in Australia after sailing their small, damaged yacht across the treacherous 2,000-kilometer Tasman Sea. Alan Langdon, 46, and his daughter Que had planned a short journey from Kawhia to the Bay of Islands on New Zealand's east coast, but after a storm damaged the yacht's rudder they found themselves drifting out to sea.

Indonesia

Sumatran tiger mauls man to death

A Sumatran tiger has mauled an Indonesian man to death in a national park, in a brutal attack that left the victim with bite marks all over his body, officials said Thursday. The man, named only as Sudir, was with four friends on Tuesday collecting palm leaves - which are used to make roofs for traditional village houses��when the attack happened, said park official Afan Absori.

(China Daily 01/13/2017 page12)