IN BRIEF

United States

Lincoln listed as best US president

Abraham Lincoln once again topped the list of US presidential leadership while Barack Obama was ranked the 12th, according to a recent survey of 91 US presidential historians. It was the third such survey released by the C-SPAN television network. Lincoln was followed by George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt in the survey, and Dwight Eisenhower moved into the top five for the first time.

Ivanka Trump's scent best-seller

With the help of attractive fragrance and fans' loyalty, Ivanka Trump's brand perfume took over the top two best-selling spots on Amazon recently. The scent of the daughter of US President Donald Trump took the two spots of Amazon's best-sellers in Women's eau de parfum in the beauty section as of early on Saturday - one for the spray and the other for the roller-ball version. Her perfume products, retailing between $15 to $46.5 on the website.

Adolf Hitler's telephone sold

A telephone owned by Adolf Hitler has sold at auction in Maryland for $243,000. The red telephone includes a Nazi party symbol and Hitler's name engraved on the back. Occupying Russian officers gave the phone to a British officer, Sir Ralph Rayner, during a visit to Hitler's bunker in Berlin. The phone was used in vehicles and trains as well as Hitler's field headquarters.

The Philippines

Sailor killed in pirate attack

Gunmen in southern Philippine waters killed one crewman of a Vietnamese vessel and abducted seven in what appeared to be the latest attack by pirates in the area, the Philippine coast guard said on Monday. Coast guard rescued 17 Vietnamese who were part of the 25-man crew of MV Giang Hai, which was attacked on Sunday evening near Baguan Island in Tawi-Tawi.

India

Probe into aircraft going silent

Indian authorities have initiated a probe into a security scare that was triggered when a passenger aircraft went silent for some time in German airspace last week. An official on Monday said the incident happened on Feb 16 in German airspace that prompted the German Air Force to send two fighter jets to escort the Boeing 777 carrying about 300 passengers from Mumbai to London.

Australia

Planned youth brawl prevented

A planned violent brawl between rival gangs during a public event in Melbourne has been prevented by police. The two youth gangs were on their way to the city armed with knives and bats as Melburnians flocked there for a night of festivities when they were apprehended, police said on Monday. About 20 people were arrested.