IN BRIEF (Page 11)

United Nations

Britain routed in UN vote on Chagos

In a stinging defeat for Britain, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly demanded on Wednesday that London cede to Mauritius the British-ruled Chagos Islands, home to an important military base. The Indian Ocean archipelago has been at the center of a decades-long dispute over Britain's decision to separate it from Mauritius in 1965 and set up a joint military base with the US on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands. A total of 116 countries voted in favor of a nonbinding resolution presented by African countries that urged Britain to "withdraw its colonial administration" from the Chagos Islands within six months. Only six countries, including Britain and the United States, voted against the measure in the 193-nation assembly.

United States

FAA chief says no 737 Max fix yet

The head of US Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, said on Wednesday his agency hadn't yet received Boeing's proposed fix for its 737 Max aircraft, which have been grounded globally following two deadly crashes. Boeing has said it will patch the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System stall prevention system, which has been blamed for the two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a total of 346 people and caused the best-selling planes to be taken out of service. Boeing said last week that it had finished making changes requested by the FAA, but the agency's interim chief Dan Elwell said the FAA had sent Boeing additional questions about its proposed fixes for the Max planes, which caused the delay.

Western Pacific

US allies holding joint naval drills

US Navy ships conducted joint drills with warships from allies Japan, Australia and South Korea in their first combined exercise in the Western Pacific, the US Navy said on Thursday. The Pacific Vanguard exercise near the US island of Guam takes place ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to Japan this weekend. The six-day exercise involves two Japanese destroyers, two Australian frigates and a destroyer from South Korea, with as many as 3,000 sailors participating. The US Navy has deployed five ships as well as fighter jets and maritime patrol planes for the drills, which include live fire and anti-submarine warfare exercises.

Norway

Algae bloom kills tons of farmed salmon

Around 11,600 tons of farmed salmon have been killed in northern Norway due to an algae bloom and more fish are at risk, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries said on Wednesday. It is estimated that the death of the 11,600 tons of farmed salmon in the northern counties of Nordland and Troms led to a loss of 720 million kroner ($82.4 million), the directorate said in a statement.

AP - Reuters - AFP - Xinhua

(China Daily 05/24/2019 page11)