South Korea scrambles jets after spotting 180 North Korean warplanes in the air
CBSN
Seoul, South Korea — South Korea scrambled dozens of military aircraft, including advanced F35 fighter jets, after spotting 180 North Korean warplanes flying in North Korean territory Friday in what appeared to be a defiant show of strength.
North Korea's aerial exercises came after the North test-fired around 30 ballistic missiles during the two previous days, including an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday that triggered evacuation warnings in Japan, in an angry response to U.S.-South Korea joint air force drills involving hundreds of their warplanes.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North Korean warplanes were detected in various areas inland and along the country's eastern and western coasts but didn't come particularly close to the inter-Korean border.
Beijing — China on Friday lashed out at what it called U.S. "coercion" after Panama declined to renew a key infrastructure agreement with Beijing following Washington's threat to take back the Panama Canal. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a briefing that China "firmly opposes the U.S. smearing and undermining the Belt and Road cooperation through means of pressure and coercion."
London — The Herculaneum scrolls have remained one of the many tantalizing mysteries of the ancient world for almost 2,000 years. Burnt to a crisp by lava from Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79, the reams of rolled-up papyrus were discovered in a mansion in Herculaneum — an ancient Roman town near Pompeii — in the mid-18th century. Both towns were decimated by the Vesuvius eruption, and most of the scrolls were so badly charred they were impossible to open.
London — Tourists continued to flee the Greek island of Santorini on Wednesday — a fourth consecutive day of exodus sparked by a series of earthquakes that have rattled the incredibly popular European vacation destination. Around 7,000 people have left the island, which sits southeast of Greece's mainland, since the quakes began last week, according to the AFP news agency.