IN BRIEF

Syria

US-led airstrike kills 40 civilians

More than 40 civilians were killed by strikes of the US-led anti-terror coalition on the city of Bukamal on Monday, pro-government Sham FM radio reported. The airstrike is the latest in a string of similar strikes that claimed the lives of civilians in the process of targeting IS positions. On Thursday, at least 11 people were killed by a US-led airstrike on the northern province of Raqqa.

Papua New Guinea

17 prisoners shot dead in jail break

Officers shot and killed 17 inmates involved in a mass prison break, local media reported on Monday, sparking calls for an investigation into overcrowded jails in the South Pacific nation where Australia detains asylum seekers. Fifty escapees were still on the run from the Buimo prison in the city of Lae, police said, warning the public that an increase in car jackings and armed robberies was likely.

Japan

Military plane with 4 missing

The defense ministry sent planes and helicopters to search for a military aircraft with four crew members aboard that went missing on Monday. The LR-2 reconnaissance plane disappeared from radar near Hakodate airport on the northern island of Hokkaido while flying to pick up a patient in Hakodate at the request of Hokkaido's governor, a ministry spokesman said.

Republic Of Korea

Aged coal power plants to be closed

President Moon Jae-in on Monday ordered a temporary shutdown of eight aged coal power plants as part of efforts to reduce fine dust. He had ordered a shutdown of these plants that had been run for more than 30 years as an emergency measure to lower fine dust. The country is operating a total of 59 coal-fired power plants. The plants have been cited as one of the main reasons for the growing damages from fine dust.

Italy

Mafia clan busted at migrant center

Italy has cracked open a mafia ring accused of infiltrating one of the country's largest migrant reception centers and capitalizing on asylum seekers, police said on Monday. The Arena clan, a family belonging to the powerful Ndrangheta crime syndicate, allegedly made a killing by supplying services for the center at Isola di Capo Rizzuto and siphoning off money from the state destined for the migrants.

Reuters-Xinhua-AFP