IN BRIEF (Page 8)

Switzerland

No statement after US-Russian talks

A meeting between US National Security Advisor John R. Bolton and his Russian counterpart, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, concluded on Thursday in Geneva without reaching a joint statement though both sides cited "progress". Speaking at the US mission in Geneva, Bolton said they discussed "the whole range of issues", including non-proliferation and arms control, bilateral issues, the fight against terrorism, illegal migration, topics related to cyberspace and regional issues such as Syria, the Middle East, Afghanistan and Ukraine.

The Netherlands

UN court to hear Iran's complains

Iran's legal challenge against renewed sanctions by the United States goes before the UN's top court on Monday, as Teheran seeks to avert painful punitive measures that could hurt its economy. Teheran filed a suit against US President Donald Trump's decision to reimpose economic sanctions at The Hague-based International Court of Justice last month. After unilaterally pulling out of a historic hard-won deal aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear program in May, Trump slapped a first round of sanctions on the country in early August. A second round is set to come into effect in early November, this time blocking Iran's valuable oil and energy sales.

United States

Weakened Lane menaces Hawaii

Hurricane Lane weakened to a Category 3 storm on Thursday but was already lashing Hawaii with high winds and torrential rains, touching off flash floods, landslides and raging surf as residents hunkered down to ride out the storm. With the storm still spinning in the Pacific Ocean around 290 kilometers southeast of Kailua-Kona, more than 30 centimeters of rain had already fallen on the eastern side of the Big Island of Hawaii, said Kelly Wooten, a spokeswoman for the Hawaii County Civil Defense agency. Emergency crews rescued five California tourists from a home they were renting in Hilo after a nearby gulch overflowed and it flooded on Thursday.

Yemen

Coalition strikes kill dozens, UAE denies

At least 22 children and nine women were killed in a Saudiled airstrike on a camp of internally displaced families south of Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Thursday, the Houthi rebel-controlled Saba news agency reported. But the state media of the United Arab Emirates, a key coalition member, disputed the claim and said the rebels had launched the attack, killing one child and injuring dozens. Neither side's claims could be independently verified.

Germany

Huge wildfire spreads near Berlin

Three villages southwest of Berlin have been evacuated as a wildfire the size of 400 soccer fields spread on Friday. More than 500 people had to leave their homes as a result of the fire in Treuenbrietzen, nearly 50 kilometers from Berlin. Police said that their plans to extinguish the flames had been complicated by old ammunition from World War II that was still buried in the forests and could explode due to the fires.

Xinhua - AFP - AP

(China Daily 08/25/2018 page8)