Briefly

ECUADOR

Ex-president found guilty of corruption

Ecuador's former president Rafael Correa was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison for corruption during his 10-year term in office, the attorney general's office said on Tuesday. Correa, who was president from 2007-17 but now lives in exile in Belgium, was one of 18 people convicted of bribery. Another 17 people, mostly former aides, received the same sentence for accepting bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht in exchange for juicy government contracts. Correa denied the accusations.

AUSTRALIA

Great Barrier Reef sees worst bleaching

An aerial survey of the Great Barrier Reef shows coral bleaching is sweeping off the east of Australia for the third time in five years. Bleaching has struck all three regions of the world's largest coral reef system and is more widespread than ever, scientists from James Cook University in Queensland state said on Tuesday. The air surveys of 1,036 reefs in the past two weeks found bleached coral in the northern, central and southern areas, James Cook University professor Terry Hughes said.

IRAQ

Coalition forces hand over Baghdad base

The international coalition forces, tasked with fighting the Islamic State terror group, on Tuesday handed over a headquarters of French advisers in the Iraqi capital Baghdad to the Iraqi security forces. Yehia Rasool, spokesman of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, said in a statement that the handover of the coalition's site came after "fruitful dialogue" between the coalition forces and the Iraqi government. Rasool did not name the site. Tuesday's handover is the fifth that Iraq has received from the coalition forces recently.

UNITED STATES

Boeing making new Max software updates

Boeing said on Tuesday that it will make two new software updates to the 737 Max's flight control computer as it works to win regulatory approval to resume flights after the jet was grounded following two fatal crashes in five months. The plane maker confirmed that one issue involves hypothetical faults in the flight control computer microprocessor, which could potentially lead to a loss of control known as a runaway stabilizer, while the other issue could potentially lead to disengagement of the autopilot feature during final approach.

Xinhua - Agencies