IN BRIEF (Page 12)

United Kingdom

Expanded drone exclusion zone

Britain will extend a drone exclusion zone fivefold and give police new powers against lawbreaking operators, the government said on Monday, after sightings last month paralyzed the nation's second busiest airport. The changes announced by the transport minister, Chris Grayling, followed a pre-Christmas disruption at Gatwick airport where drone flyovers led to 1,000 flight cancellations affecting 140,000 passengers. The government said the drone exclusion zone around airports would be extended to about 5 kilometers - with additional extensions at runway ends - from 1 km now.

Turkey

Trial in 2016 killing of Russian ambassador

Twenty eight suspects were due to go on trial Tuesday over the assassination of the Russian ambassador two years ago, including a US-based Muslim preacher blamed by Ankara for a failed coup the same year. Andrei Karlov, 62, was shot dead by an off-duty Turkish police officer at a photo exhibition in Ankara on Dec 19, 2016, in a shock attack that was captured on camera by photographers attending the event. The 22-year-old gunman, Mevlut Mert Altintas, shouted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) and "Don't forget Aleppo", vowing that those responsible for events in Syria would be held accountable.

Indonesia

New search for crashed Lion Air jet's black box

Indonesia will launch a renewed search effort as early as Tuesday to find the cockpit voice recorder from a Lion Air jet that crashed into the Java Sea in October, its accident investigation agency said. The crash, the world's first of a Boeing Co 737 MAX jet and the deadliest of 2018, killed all 189 people on board. Investigators last week said they planned to use a navy ship for a fresh search for the jet's second "black box" after a 10-day effort funded by Lion Air failed to find the cockpit voice recorder.

Japan

Magazine apologizes for 'sex listing'

A Japanese tabloid magazine apologized on Tuesday for an article ranking women's universities on how easy it is to convince students to have sex at drinking parties. The list appeared in the Dec 25 issue of the weekly magazine "Spa!" and prompted outrage, particularly online where one woman launched a campaign seeking an apology and suspension of sales of the offending issue. Her petition on the change.org platform accused the article of "sexualizing, objectifying and disrespecting women" and had collected support from more than 28,000 people by Tuesday.

Syria

IS counterattack leaves 32 dead

Extremists defending their last bastion in eastern Syria used the cover of bad weather to launch a deadly counterattack against a Kurdish-led force, a war monitor said on Tuesday. The Islamic State terror group was unable to hold on to the positions they attacked but the assault killed 23 members of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and also left nine extremists dead.

Italy

2018 is hottest on record since 1800

The year 2018 was the hottest on record in Italy since 1800, the National Research Council said on Monday. Temperatures in Italy in 2018 were +1.58 C above the average for 1971-2000, breaking the previous record that occurred in 2015, when temperatures climbed +1.44 C above average. With respect to 2018, the months of January and April were both "exceptional", according to the CNR. January 2018 was the second hottest since 1800, with temperatures rising +2.37 C above the mean, while April was the hottest ever, with the thermometer soaring by +3.50 C above average.

Reuters - AFP- Xinhua

(China Daily 01/09/2019 page12)