IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Japan

9 hurt as car crashes into crowd on New Year's Eve

With an "intent to murder", a man identified as 21-year-old Kazuhiro Kusakabe drove a small vehicle into partygoers on Takeshita Street in Tokyo's fashion district of Harajuku at 10 minutes past midnight. Nine people were hurt, a police spokesman said on Tuesday. According to national broadcaster NHK, Kusakabe told police he was acting in "retribution for the death penalty" without giving more precise details. Local media said a container of kerosene was found inside the rental car. The attacker, who reportedly drove the vehicle from the western region of Osaka, has told investigators that he planned to burn the vehicle, according to private network Fuji TV.

United Kingdom

12 migrants found as govt mulls more Channel patrols

Police picked up a group of 12 migrants found on a beach in southwestern England as top British officials met on Monday to discuss the increasing number of people attempting to cross the English Channel from France to England. The government agency that oversees immigration said nine men, two women and a 10-year-old child were in the group, who reported being Iranian. They received health checks and were turned over to immigration officials for interviews, the Home Office said. About 230 migrants tried to cross from northern France to southern England in December, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said.

United States

NASA spacecraft finishes farthest flyby in human history

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft performed the farthest flyby in human history as it approached the Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule on Tuesday. Ultima Thule, about 6.4 billion kilometers from the sun and about 1.6 billion km from Pluto, will be the most distant object ever directly explored, said NASA. It would also provide the first close-up look at such a pristine building block of the solar system. It is the second historic rendezvous for New Horizons, which zipped by Pluto in July 2015, the first flyby of the dwarf planet.

Italy

Venice to charge tourists for access to city center

A measure in Italy's 2019 budget law will allow the local government in Venice to charge day-trippers for access to the city's historic center as a way to help defray the considerable costs of maintaining a popular tourist destination built on water, the mayor said on Sunday. The city council will be responsible for setting the charge and determining the collection method. The mayor's office said it would vary from 2.50 euros ($2.87) to 10 euros per person, with exemptions for students, people traveling briefly to Venice for work or business and regional residents.

AFP - AP - Xinhua

(China Daily 01/02/2019 page12)