Briefly

UNITED KINGDOM

King Charles III to be crowned in May

The coronation of King Charles III will take place on May 6 next year, Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday. Charles, 73, will be formally crowned at London's Westminster Abbey. The monarch's wife, Queen Consort Camilla, will also be crowned, the palace confirmed. "The coronation will reflect the monarch's role today and looks toward the future, while being rooted in long-standing traditions and pageantry," royal officials said in a short statement. Confirmation of the date came a month after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and speculation about when the ceremony might be held.

IRAN

'Mossad spy' arrested in southeast province

Iran has arrested an individual accused of spying for Israel's intelligence agency Mossad in the southeastern Kerman province, semiofficial Tasnim News Agency quoted a senior provincial judiciary official on Tuesday. The individual, who intended to perpetrate acts of sabotage and compromise security in the province, was arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' intelligence forces, Kerman's prosecutor general Ebrahim Hamidi was quoted as saying. He said the "spy" was identified and arrested in a raid following extensive technical and intelligence measures by the country's security forces.

JAPAN

Self-destruct signal follows failed launch

Japan's space agency sent a self-destruct signal to an Epsilon rocket after its failed launch on Wednesday, Kyodo News reported. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency sent out a self-destruct order to the Epsilon-6 solid-fuel rocket carrying eight satellites soon after it was launched early Wednesday from Uchinoura Space Center in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, the media reported. The order came immediately after the JAXA discovered a problem with the rocket that made it unable to fly safely, according to the report.

AUSTRALIA

Adelie penguins in rapid decline: study

Australia's top Antarctic scientists have reported a rapid decline in the population of Adelie penguins. According to research published by the Australian Antarctic Division on Tuesday, a large Adelie population off the East Antarctic coast has declined by 43 percent over the last decade. Ecologists from the AAD surveyed 52 islands along the 100-kilometer coastline.

Agencies - Xinhua