Briefly

UNITED STATES

Scientists offer hope for clean energy

Nuclear scientists using lasers the size of three soccer fields said on Tuesday they had generated a huge amount of energy from fusion, possibly offering hope for the development of a new clean energy source. Experts focused their giant array of almost 200 laser beams onto a tiny spot to create a mega blast of energy－eight times more than they had ever done in the past. Though the energy burst only lasted for a very short time－just 100 trillionths of a second, it took scientists closer to the holy grail of fusion ignition. Nuclear fusion is considered by some scientists to be a potential energy of the future, particularly because it produces little waste and no greenhouse gases.

MAURITANIA

47 feared dead after boat loses power

Forty-seven migrants are feared to have died off Mauritania's coast after a boat was found drifting with seven survivors on board, said an official with the United Nations' migration agency on Tuesday. The boat most probably left the Laayoune region of Western Sahara on Aug 3, heading for the Spanish archipelago of the Canaries, said Nicolas Hochart of the International Office for Migration. But it suffered engine failure and drifted for nearly two weeks before being spotted by the Mauritanian Coast Guard on Monday off Nouadhibou city. Fifty-four people, including two children under the age of 3 and a teenage girl, were aboard at the start of the trip, survivors said.

SYRIA

Israeli missile hits military position

Syrian state media reported that Israel carried out a missile attack on southern Syria late on Tuesday, targeting an unspecified military position. The state TV report did not specify if there were any casualties. It said two missiles were fired toward the military position near the southern town of Quneitra, on the edge of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. A war monitor group said the missiles struck areas where alleged Iran-backed fighters are based. Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against alleged Iran-linked military targets in Syria over the years, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

Agencies - Xinhua