IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Italy

PM nominee starts to form cabinet

Italy's prime ministerial nominee Giuseppe Conte was scheduled to begin work on Thursday on lining up a cabinet after being endorsed to lead a coalition government formed by anti-establishment and far-right parties. Conte's appointment could herald an end to more than two months of political uncertainty in the eurozone's third-biggest economy - but the coalition's euroskeptic and anti-immigrant stance has alarmed senior European officials.

Syria

State media says US hit army posts

A Syrian government-run media outlet reported that US-led coalition airstrikes have struck army positions in the east near the front lines with the Islamic State extremist group, but the US military denied knowledge of it. A war-monitoring group said at least 12 pro-government fighters were killed. IS lost most of its territory in Syria last year, but retained some remote desert areas and has attacked the army and allied forces in recent weeks.

Australia

World's largest cat-free area fenced

A wildlife conservation group has fenced off a 94-square-kilometer sanctuary in the country's north in an attempt to save native marsupials and birds from the growing problem of feral cats. The world's largest cat-free area was completed at the Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary - a former cattle station - after research estimated that cats killed approximately 73,000 native mammals, reptiles and birds a year in the area.

Xinhua - Reuters - Afp

(China Daily 05/25/2018 page12)