IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Thailand

Royal decree issued for new election

Thailand's king has issued a royal decree endorsing the first general election since 2014, with a date for the long-delayed poll expected in five days. "It's a suitable time to hold an election of members of parliament," said the decree by 66-year-old King Maha Vajiralongkorn, published in the Royal Gazette on Wednesday and counter-signed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha. The election is expected to be held before the coronation of Thailand's king in early May. It will also be the first poll since the death in late 2016 of the king's father Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Indonesia

Landslides, flooding from dam kill 8 people

Torrential rains that overwhelmed a dam and caused landslides killed at least eight people and displaced more than 2,000 in central Indonesia, officials said on Wednesday. The dead included two infants who drowned and a man who was electrocuted after the floods began late on Tuesday, said Adnan Purichta Ichsann, the chief of Gowa district in South Sulawesi. Rescuers were still evacuating residents to shelters. The national disaster agency said more than 2,000 people were in temporary shelters. Indonesian TV showed half submerged homes and rescuers in boats reaching people clinging to tire inner tubes in the floodwaters.

Northeast Asia

Japanese plane's 'threatening flight'

South Korea's military has accused Japan of a "clear provocation" over what it said was a threatening low-altitude flight by a Japanese patrol plane over a South Korean warship. An official said on Wednesday that the plane flew 60 to 70 meters above the water near a South Korean naval ship. Seoul and Tokyo are key US allies, but are currently locked in disputes over military issues and wartime history. South Korea also accused another Japanese patrol plane of conducting a low-altitude flight over a South Korean warship in December. Japan has claimed the warship locked its fire-control radar onto the plane, but Seoul denied that.

Australia

Chinese demand drives wine exports

The value of Australia's wine exports grew 10 percent to $2 billion in 2018 with China again leading the way, data has revealed. Wine Australia on Tuesday night announced that 94 million nine-liter cases of Australian wine were sold around the world in 2018, up 5 percent from 2017. Red wine remained the biggest seller and now accounts for 76 percent of Australia's total wine exports.

China Daily - AP - Xinhua

(China Daily 01/24/2019 page12)