IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Turkey

Deal signed to buy Russian missile system

Turkey has signed a deal with Russia to buy S-400 missile defense systems in its first major weapons purchase from Moscow, Turkish newspapers on Tuesday quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying. The accord for the surface-to-air missile defense batteries is also Ankara's most significant deal with a non-NATO supplier. The purchase will raise concerns in the West over their technical compatibility with the alliance's equipment. The Pentagon has already sounded the alarm, saying bluntly that "generally it's a good idea" for NATO allies to buy interoperable equipment.

The Philippines

4 dead, 6 missing in floods, landslides

At least four people died and six were missing after a major storm caused flooding in and around Manila on Tuesday, forcing schools, government offices and businesses to shut down. A 12-year-old girl who drowned in a rain-swollen river in a Manila suburb and a 3-month-old baby who was crushed by a landslide southeast of the Philippine capital were among the victims, local officials said. Most of the dead and missing were poor people forced to live in identified "danger zones" despite government warnings of the risks they face during storms.

Syria

Govt now controls 85 percent of territory

Russia's military said Syrian troops have liberated about 85 percent of the war-torn country's territory from the Islamic State extremists. Lieutenant General Alexander Lapin said on Tuesday at Hemeimeem air base that Syrian forces have yet to clear the remaining 15 percent, approximately 27,000 square kilometers, from the extremists. Syrian troops have in recent weeks pushed out IS militants from the Homs province, near the border with Lebanon, and are now fighting them in the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province in the east.

(China Daily 09/13/2017 page12)