IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Yemen

Britain's Hunt sees prospect for talks

British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt on Tuesday said prospects for talks to end Yemen's civil conflict were "more real" after Saudi Arabia confirmed to him its willingness to evacuate 50 wounded Houthi fighters as a confidence-building measure. The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen resumed airstrikes on the main port city of Hodeidah after a lull on Monday as Western allies pressed Riyadh to end the war. "Even though there's been a temporary lull in the fighting,... it is a desperate humanitarian situation and so I impressed on everyone the urgency of the situation we're facing," Hunt said.

Indonesia

Lion Air jet situation not in flight manual

Investigators have said that more training was needed for Boeing 737 MAX pilots after discovering the situation believed to have faced the crew of a doomed Lion Air jet was not contained in the aircraft's flight manual. US pilots were also not aware of potential risks, two US pilot unions said. The comments shed further light on the areas under scrutiny as investigators prepare to publish their preliminary report this month, after the jet dived into the Java Sea on Oct 29, killing all 189 on board.

South Korea

Rice production hits 38-year low

Rice production in the country hit the lowest in 38 years this year on the reduced area for rice paddies and bad weather conditions, a report showed on Tuesday. The estimated rice output for 2018 was 3,868,000 tons, according to Statistics Korea. It was down 2.6 percent from 3,972,000 tons tallied in 2017. As people's tastes get increasingly Westernized, rice consumption continues to fall. Rice consumption per capita fell 0.2 percent over the year to 61.8 kilograms in 2017.

Australia

Car attacker guilty on 6 murder counts

A man who drove a car through a crowd on a pedestrian-only Australian street last year, killing six people and injuring dozens more, has been found guilty of all 33 charges against him, including six counts of murder. A Melbourne Supreme Court jury on Tuesday found 28-year-old James Gargasoulas guilty of all charges, which also included 27 counts of reckless conduct endangering life. Gargasoulas pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Reuters - Xinhua - Ap

(China Daily 11/14/2018 page11)