IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Russia

First manned voyage to ISS since rocket accident

A rocket blasted a three-man crew into orbit on Monday, beginning the first manned voyage to the International Space Station since a mission in October was aborted because of a rocket malfunction. The Soyuz lifted off from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, NASA astronaut Anne McClain and the Canadian Space Agency's David Saint-Jacques. It was closely scrutinized because the mission to the ISS on Oct 11 ended two minutes after takeoff when a rocket failure forced its two-man crew to perform an emergency landing.

Australia

Largest bank leaks customer information

The private medical information of an unknown number of Commonwealth Bank Insurance customers was made available to employees from unrelated branches of the company, media reported on Monday. An investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has revealed that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia became aware of the mistake in July as they prepared to sell the insurance component of the business for $2.7 billion. The bank said it's not yet clear how many people were affected and whether the information was actually accessed by staff from the unrelated branches of the company.

Mexico

Government readies presidential jet for sale

Mexico's presidential jet will depart for San Bernardino, California, on Monday to be reconditioned for sale as part of the austerity push by new President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with beds, shower and granite bathroom countertops was purchased for $368 million in November 2012. The finished plane was delivered in February 2016.

Reuters - Xinhua - AFP

(China Daily 12/04/2018 page12)