Briefly

UNITED KINGDOM

32 deaths from clots reported after AZ jabs

A total of 168 people have suffered rare blood clots after taking the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in Britain, and 32 have died, the UK's medicines regulator said on Thursday. The figures for clots or "thromboembolic events" run up to April 14 when 21.2 million people had received first doses of the vaccine. Acting on the regulator's advice, the UK government this month agreed to offer most people under 30 an alternative to the AstraZeneca coronavirus jab if possible, due to concerns over blood clots.

RUSSIA

Moscow orders end to drills in Crimea

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday ordered an end to military drills involving tens of thousands of troops and dozens of warships that had exacerbated tensions with the West. It came as President Vladimir Putin invited Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky for talks in Moscow following weeks of renewed fighting in the east of Ukraine between government troops and militias. Earlier on Friday, Shoigu oversaw massive drills in Crimea and said soldiers would begin returning to their permanent bases. He said the troop pullback should be completed by May 1.

JAPAN

First joint military drill with US, France

Japan will hold a joint military drill with US and French troops in the country's southwest next month, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said on Friday. The exercise, running from May 11 to 17, will be the first large-scale exercise in Japan involving ground troops from all three countries, the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force said in a statement. The joint drills will be held at the JGSDF's Kirishima training ground and Camp Ainoura in the Kyushu region and include amphibious operation exercises. It comes as Tokyo seeks to deepen military cooperation beyond its key US ally.

INDONESIA

Time running out for missing submarine

Rescue teams from several countries were scouring the waters off Bali on Friday as they raced against time to find a navy submarine that disappeared two days ago and has less than a day's supply of oxygen left for its 53 crew. The KRI Nanggala 402 went missing after its last reported dive on Wednesday off the resort island, and concern is mounting the submarine may have sunk too deep to reach or recover. The navy chief said the submarine was expected to run out of oxygen by around 3 am on Saturday local time.

Agencies - Xinhua