Briefly

SYRIA

Israeli strike kills 4 soldiers, wounds 3

An Israeli missile attack on suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus killed four soldiers and wounded three others, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. The ministry said earlier in the day that the missiles were fired from northern Israel shortly after midnight and that most of them were shot down. The ministry said the attack on the suburbs of Damascus caused material damage, but gave no further details. The attacks came hours after the Israeli military said an Israeli drone crashed on the Syrian side of the border on Tuesday, adding that an investigation was opened into the case.

MYANMAR

Suu Kyi sentenced to 5 more years

Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to five more years of imprisonment on Wednesday after being found guilty of corruption, according to the State Administration Council's Information Team. She was convicted of accepting gold bars and cash payment from former Yangon region chief minister Phyo Min Thein, the Information Team's leader Zaw Min Tun told Xinhua News Agency. Aung San Suu Kyi has already been sentenced to six years of imprisonment in other cases in two separate verdicts.

UNITED STATES

SpaceX sends 4 astronauts to ISS

Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX launched four more astronauts on a flight to the International Space Station for NASA on Wednesday, including a medical doctor turned spacewalker and a geologist specializing in Martian landslides. The launch vehicle lifted off with its crew of four at 3:52 am from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. If all goes according to plan, the three US astronauts and a European Space Agency crewmate from Italy will reach the space station after a 17-hour flight and dock around 8:15 pm to begin a six-month science mission orbiting some 420 kilometers above Earth.

Agencies - Xinhua