Iran in ‘successful’ test of satellite-launch rocket
AFP, Tehran
Iran on Thursday “successfully” tested a satellite-launch rocket, days after warning Washington of a response to new US sanctions over the Islamic republic’s ballistic missile programme, state television said.
It said the launch vehicle, named Simorgh after a bird in Iranian mythology, was capable of propelling a satellite weighing 250 kilograms (550 pounds) to an altitude of 500 kilometres (300 miles) above earth.
Brexit transition could last until 2022: UK Minister
AFP, London
Britain will try to keep as many aspects of its EU membership in place as possible during a transition period of up to three years after Brexit, finance minister Philip Hammond said on Friday.
But Hammond told BBC radio that EU nationals would have to register with the authorities starting from the expected departure date of March 2019 as the government comes up with a new immigration system.
China air force says to continue with flight drills at sea
Reuters, Shanghai
The Chinese air force will keep conducting drills at sea regardless of whatever interference it may encounter, China’s state broadcaster reported, following reports that Chinese warplanes flew near Japan and Taiwan in recent days.
“The air force’s distant sea training has become normal, systemic and practical,” China Central Television quoted air force spokesman Shen Jinke late on Thursday as saying.
Barcelona train crash injures 54
AFP, Barcelona
A commuter train slammed into the end of the platform during the morning rush hour at a busy station in Barcelona on Friday, leaving 54 people injured, emergency services said.
One person was seriously injured, 19 were injured “less seriously” including the driver, and 34 were lightly injured in the accident at Francia station in the centre of the Spanish city, local emergency services said on Twitter.
