IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Republic Of Korea

ROK, US kick off spring war game

The Republic of Korea and the United States on Wednesday kicked off a joint military exercise, Yonhap news agency reported. The Foal Eagle field training exercise was scheduled to last until late April, bringing the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and other assets to the Korean Peninsula. An ROK military official was quoted as saying that the drill will be the largest ever.

France

Fillon faces charges, but will continue bid

French presidential candidate Francois Fillon said on Wednesday he will not pull out of the campaign despite admitting he is to be charged over allegations he paid his wife and children for fake jobs. Fillon, a conservative, denied all the allegations. He had earlier led the race ahead of the elections in April and May but the allegations had cost him support and he has fallen behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron.

Two hurt in police shooting accident

A policeman providing security for Francois Hollande accidentally fired his gun as the French president was giving a speech on Tuesday, injuring two people in the VIP area of the crowd, an official said.

Hollande was inaugurating part of a high-speed rail line in the southwest of the country when the officer accidentally discharged the weapon. Two people suffered leg injuries but neither was seriously hurt, officials said.

Indonesia

Saudi king brings huge entourage

Cheering crowds welcomed King Salman on Wednesday as he began the first visit by a Saudi monarch to Indonesia for almost 50 years, seeking stronger economic ties with the world's most populous Muslim-majority country. The king is accompanied by about 1,000 people and about 460 tons of equipment, including Mercedes limousines, with most transported to the resort island of Bali, where Salman will go on holiday after visiting Jakarta.

United States

Obamas sign lucrative book deal

Penguin Random House has landed a deal to publish two forthcoming books by former US president Barack Obama and the former first lady, Michelle Obama, with one volume to be written by each, the publishing company said on Tuesday. Terms of the agreement, in which the company acquired worldwide publication rights for the books, were not disclosed but bids reached more than $60 million, a record sum for US presidential memoirs, the Financial Times reported.

United Kingdom

Iron Age gold gems discovered on farm

A collection of jewelry, unearthed by two metal detector enthusiasts, was described on Tuesday as the earliest example of Iron Age gold ever discovered in Britain. The gold items were found in an area of moorland on a farm in the English county of Staffordshire. Mark Hambleton and Joe Kania unearthed the 2,500-year-old artifacts, which had been lying just beneath the surface, all within a meter of each other.

(China Daily 03/02/2017 page12)