IN BRIEF (Page 8)

United States

Pentagon chief to kick off East Asia trip

US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper will travel to the Republic of Korea, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam next week, the Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday. Esper's trip starts on Nov 13, and his first stop is the Republic of Korea, where he will attend the 51st US-ROK Security Consultative Meeting and discuss the alliance with his counterpart and other senior ROK officials, the statement said. The Pentagon chief will then participate in the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Thailand.

Iran

Night-time quake kills at least 5, hurts 300

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck northwestern Iran early on Friday, killing at least five people and injuring more than 300 others, officials said. The temblor struck Tark county in Iran's Eastern Azerbaijan Province at 2:17 am, Iran's seismological center said. The area is nearly 400 kilometers northwest of Iran's capital, Teheran. About 40 aftershocks rattled the rural region nestled in the Alborz Mountains, and residents rushed out of their homes in fear. The quake injured at least 312 people, state television reported, though only 13 needed to be admitted to hospital.

Brazil

Ruling could free ex-president da Silva

The Brazilian Supreme Court delivered a ruling that could release almost 5,000 inmates still appealing against their convictions, including former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and other powerful figures jailed in a sprawling corruption investigation. The court decided in a 6-5 vote on Thursday that a person can be imprisoned only after all appeals to higher courts have been exhausted. The decision appears to cover da Silva, whose attorneys said they will request his release on Friday. That move will initially depend on a judge based in the southern city of Curitiba, where the former president is jailed.

Japan

Record 400 kg of cocaine seized at port

The authorities have seized a record-breaking 400 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated $73 million in a bust at a port in Kobe, a customs spokesman said on Friday. The discovery was made last month but came to light on Friday, with officials saying they could not provide additional details because the investigation was ongoing. "This is record-breaking, in terms of volume" for a cocaine bust, the spokesman said. It was unclear yet where the cocaine came from.

Xinhua - Agencies

(China Daily 11/09/2019 page8)