1) Flights resumed at London’s Gatwick Airport on Friday morning after drones sparked the shutdown of the airfield for more than 24 hours, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded or delayed during the busy holiday season.
2) Japan Airlines Co has found that one of its pilots has evaded breathalyzer tests before flights over 100 times since last year, company officials said Thursday, adding to the series of drinking incidents involving flight crew at the airline.
3) The top U.S. doctor has called for “aggressive” action against e-cigarette use, which he said has exploded to epidemic proportions among youth and puts their health and brain development at risk.
4) President Donald Trump is reportedly considering drastically cutting the number of US troops deployed in Afghanistan, following his decision to withdraw them from Syria.
The US government has acknowledged the start of withdrawal of troops from Syria.
President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that his country has defeated the Islamic State militant group in Syria, and that this is the only reason for being there.
5) A realtor in northern Japan had reportedly stockpiled a large quantity of aerosol spray cans at the time of a huge blast.
The explosion and ensuing fire in Sapporo City, Hokkaido, on Sunday destroyed a building housing the realtor and injured 42 people, including diners at a restaurant next door.
6) Former workers and their families in South Korea are suing their own government over compensation for wartime labor in Japan. There are about 1,100 plaintiffs in total.
7) A large number of Central Americans have gathered near sathe US bocrder swith Mexico in the hope of seeking asylum in the US. The administration of US President Donald Trump is refusing to grant asylum to anyone who illegally enters the country.
8) okyo stocks tumbled on Thursday, following a plunge in New York. The benchmark Nikkei Average briefly fell more than 700 points and sank to a fresh low for the year.
9) The Japanese government has decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission in a bid to resume commercial whaling. It cites the recovery of some whale species as a reason.
10) Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has been re-arrested on fresh charges, Japanese media report, dashing any hopes he could be released on bail.