Briefly

UNITED KINGDOM

New trade deals signed with Vietnam, Turkey

The United Kingdom and Vietnam signed a free-trade agreement on Tuesday, days before Britain completes its transition out of the European Union. The deal was due to take effect on Thursday. Trade between Vietnam and Britain has risen by an average of 12 percent a year over the past decade to reach $6.6 billion last year. Also on Tuesday, Turkey and the UK also signed their free trade deal. The UK is Turkey's second-largest export market and bilateral trade was worth $25.25 billion in 2019.

RUSSIA

Probe opened against Navalny over fraud

Russian investigators on Tuesday opened a criminal probe into opposition leader Alexei Navalny, alleging he had used more than 356 million rubles ($4.8 million) of donations to his organizations for personal purposes including holidays abroad. The Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement that the money was part of more than 588 million rubles Navalny had raised "exclusively" for his nonprofit organizations. The charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

AUSTRALIA

12-hour bush trek by friends leads to rescue

A 10-year old boy and his father were rescued by helicopter from a car marooned in flooded bushland, after three friends who had been accompanying them walked 50 kilometers through Australia's remote Outback to get help. The group of four adults and the boy were driving in north-west Queensland, a 24-hour drive from Brisbane, when their pickup became bogged down in floodwaters on Sunday evening. After spending the night together, the three trekked for about 12 hours to a police station to raise the alarm at around 6 pm on Monday.

Agencies - Xinhua