IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Lebanon

Hezbollah, allies score major gains

The leader of the Hezbollah group declared "mission accomplished" on Monday after scoring major gains in parliamentary elections, as the faction headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri lost a third of its seats. Hariri acknowledged the losses at a news conference in Beirut on Monday, but said "it's not the end of the world". Hezbollah and its political allies gained at least 43 seats of the legislature's 128 seats. Hariri's Future Movement won 21 seats.

United Kingdom

Johnson attacks customs plan

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has attacked Prime Minister Theresa May's plan for a customs partnership with the European Union after the UK leaves the bloc the latest sign of dissent within her Cabinet. Johnson told the Daily Mail newspaper that the partnership idea was "crazy" and would create a "whole new web of bureaucracy". It after May's Cabinet last week failed to agree on a preferred option for Britain's future customs relationship with EU.

Syria

2 dead in Russian helicopter crash

A Russian Ka-52 helicopter crashed in Syria on Monday, killing both pilots, Moscow's Defence Ministry said in a statement. The incident was the Russian army's second deadly crash in Syria in less than a week. On May 3, a Russian fighter jet crashed after taking off from an air base, killing both pilots.

Nigeria

Military rescues 1,000 hostages

More than 1,000 people held captive in Nigeria by Boko Haram extremist have been rescued, Nigeria's military said on Monday. The hostages, who were mainly women and children, were rescued from four villages in the Bama area of Borno State, military spokesman Texas Chukwu said. Among the rescued were some men who had been forced to become Boko Haram fighters, he said.

Germany

At least 2 dead as trains collide

At least two people were killed and several others were hurt when two trains collided on Monday in Germany, the national rail company said. The Deutsche Bahn network operator said that a commuter service hit a freight train between Ingolstadt and Augsburg in Germany's southern Bavaria region.

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(China Daily 05/09/2018 page12)