GLOBAL SNAPSHOT

Mountain rescue

KATHMANDU: Trekking officials in Nepal rescued a Taiwanese man who was missing on a mountain for 47 days. Asian Trekking agency official Madhav Basnet said Liang Sheng-yueh, 21, was found on Wednesday.

Attack was Assad

PARIS: The Bashar al-Assad government authorised the deadly nerve gas attack in northern Syria earlier this month, according to French intelligence. Scores were killed in the chemical weapons attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun, which a declassified report claims bears the regime’s signature.

Activists arrested

HONG KONG: Authorities are expanding their crackdown on the Chinese-controlled territory’s opposition by arresting activists. Police detained up to nine yesterday for their apparent involvement in an anti-China protest last year.

Israelis hit depot

AMMAN: Syrian rebel and intelligence sources said Israel struck an arms supply hub operated by the Lebanese Hezbollah group near Damascus airport, where weapons from Tehran are regularly sent by commercial and military cargo planes. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is backed in the country’s six-year civil war by Russia, Iran and regional Shi’ite militias including Hezbollah, which is a close ally of Tehran and a sworn enemy of Israel. Israeli Intelligence Minister Israel Katz, speaking from the United States, told Israeli Army Radio: “I can confirm that the incident in Syria corresponds completely with Israel’s policy to act to prevent Iran’s smuggling of advanced weapons via Syria to Hezbollah in Iran.”

Airline makes vow

DALLAS: United Airlines has detailed new policies to deal with overbooked flights. The airline said it would raise the limit to $US10,000 on payments to customers who lose seats and vowed to reduce overbooking.

Pressure on media

HANOI: Vietnam’s government said Facebook had committed to remove content that violates the country’s laws. Communist Vietnam complained in February about “toxic” anti-government and offensive content on Facebook and YouTube. The government pressured local companies to withdraw advertising until the social media firms found a solution.

Charges delay

BANGKOK: Prosecutors in Thailand said an heir to the Red Bull fortune had asked for another delay in facing charges over an alleged hit-and-run that killed a police officer almost five years ago. Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya has been a no-show on several occasions.