IN BRIEF (Page 12)

EGYPT

German Lufthansa resumes Cairo flights

Lufthansa resumed flying to Cairo on Sunday following a one-day suspension due to safety concerns. The German airline's website shows LH582 took off from Frankfurt after a two-hour delay and arrived in Egypt's capital on Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, British Airways continued with its seven-day suspension of flights to Cairo, and Egypt's Minister of Civil Aviation Younis al-Masry said he's frustrated that the airline suspended flights without consulting Egyptian authorities. British Airways suspended flights to Cairo on Saturday for seven days "as a security precaution" as it reviews security at the city's airport. The United States warned citizens on Friday about traveling to Egypt, saying terrorist groups including the Islamic State had committed multiple deadly attacks. British authorities also warned against traveling to parts of Egypt due to terrorist attacks.

TURKEY

Ankara may retaliate over S-400 sanctions

Turkey will retaliate if the United States imposes sanctions over Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday, adding that any such sanctions would be unacceptable. In an interview with broadcaster TGRT Haber, Cavusoglu said that US President Donald Trump does not want to impose sanctions and added that he did not expect the US administration to take such action.

VENEZUELA

Military intercepts US intelligence plane

The Venezuelan armed forces have intercepted a US intelligence plane after it entered the South American country's airspace, the Venezuelan government said on Sunday. The US plane, which entered Venezuelan airspace without prior notification, was identified on Friday, the government said in a statement. Noting that the "incursion" violated international rules and threatened the safety of commercial flights, Venezuelan authorities said the armed forces escorted the intelligence gathering aircraft out of the airspace. US Southern Command said in a statement on Sunday that its Navy EP-3 Aries II plane, while "flying a mission in approved international airspace", was "aggressively shadowed" by a Venezuelan fighter plane.

PAKISTAN

10 killed, 24 injured in series of attacks

A total of 10 people were killed and 24 others injured in a string of terrorist attacks in Dera Ismail Khan district of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, a senior official and police said on Sunday. The militants carried out two back-to-back attacks on police at a check post and later at a hospital in the district, said Firdous Ashiq Awan, a senior aide to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. The dead included six police officers. In a text message to media, the banned Pakistan Taliban claimed the attacks, saying that the attacks were conducted in retaliation for the killing of one of their accomplices by the police in an attack on June 23.

FRANCE

Lost submarine located after 50 years

A French submarine that went missing in the western Mediterranean in 1968 has been located during a search mission, officials said Monday, ending a 51-year wait for families of the deceased who continue to seek answers to the naval disaster. "It's a success, a relief and a technical feat," Defense Minister Florence Parly wrote on Twitter, after the wreck was discovered 45 kilometers off the southern French port of Toulon. The diesel and electric-powered Minerve submarine was lost off France's southern coast with 52 sailors on board on January 17, 1968.

Agencies - Xinhua

(China Daily 07/23/2019 page12)