IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Russia

23 injured in plane's emergency landing

A passenger jet made an emergency landing in a field outside of one of Moscow's airports on Thursday after colliding with a flock of birds, injuring at least 23 people, Russian officials said. The Ural Airlines A321, carrying 226 passengers and a crew of seven, hit the birds as it took off Thursday from Moscow's Zhukovsky airport en route for Simferopol, in Crimea. The airline said in a statement that the birds got into both of the plane's engines, causing them to malfunction. The pilot then made an emergency landing in a cornfield about 1 kilometer from the airport. Russian health authorities said 23 people, including five children, were taken to the hospital, and all but one were released following check-ups and quick treatment. The Kremlin will bestow state awards on the two pilots.

Indonesia

Govt seals palm oil amid forest fires

Indonesia has sealed parts of palm oil and timber concessions owned by 10 companies on Borneo Island after a spate of forest fires, authorities said on Thursday, warning those involved in forest burning would be severely punished. Indonesia is under pressure to end slash-and-burn clearance of land, often for plant palm and pulp plantations. The practice caused devastating fires in 2015 that spread a choking haze across most of Southeast Asia. The disaster mitigation agency recorded 1,092 hot spots as of Thursday, the highest since the 2015 fires, and at least six provinces on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo have declared an emergency.

Malaysia

No foul play signs in London teen's death

Malaysian police said on Thursday that there were no signs of foul play in the death of a 15-year-old London girl who mysteriously disappeared from a nature resort, with an autopsy showing she succumbed to intestinal bleeding due to starvation and stress. Nora Anne Quoirin's body was discovered on Tuesday beside a small stream about 2.5 kilometers from the Dusun eco-resort after she disappeared from her family's resort cottage on Aug 4. Negeri Sembilan state police chief Mohamad Mat Yusop said the autopsy found no evidence the teenager had been abducted or raped. She was estimated to have been dead two or three days when her naked body was found, he said.

Agencies

(China Daily 08/16/2019 page12)