IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Russia

Military staff to increase to 1.9m

President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to increase the country's armed forces by some 18,000 people to more than 1.9 million starting in July, according to a release on Wednesday from the government online portal of legal information. "The manpower of the Russian Armed Forces should number 1,903,051 units, including 1,013,628 servicemen from July 1, 2017," the decree read. Besides active-duty servicemen, the Russian Armed Forces also include civil officers.

United States

13 killed after bus crashes with truck

A small shuttle bus carrying Texas church members home from a retreat collided head-on with a pickup truck, killing 13 people and injuring two others on Wednesday on a two-lane highway in southwestern Texas, officials said. It was not immediately clear what caused the collision and the National Transportation Safety Board has sent investigators to the scene.

India

At least 36 injured as train derails

At least 36 people have been injured, some of them seriously, after eight coaches of a fast passenger train derailed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the early hours of Thursday, officials said. Local TV channels showed footage of the derailed train and reported that rescue operations were on full swing, led by personnel of the specialized National Defense Response Force.

Australia

28 percent citizens were born overseas

The proportion of Australians born overseas continues to grow, with 28 percent of Australians found to have been born elsewhere, according to new figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. According to the statistics, Japan was the fastest growing source of "new Australians" with 24 percent growth, followed by China, Malaysia and India.

Bacteria kills 16 endangered parrots

The deaths of 16 critically endangered iconic parrots in a Australia's Tasmanian breeding facility have been blamed on an ineffective disinfectant. The 16 orange-bellied parrots, which represented 11 percent of the 136 parrots existing in captivity, died over a month at the facility in Taroona, 10 kilometers south of Hobart, in January. Associate Professor David Phelan, an expert in animal management, concluded that the common bacteria pseudomonas aeruginosa killed the birds.

Africa

Electricity standard could be adopted

The African Union is making great efforts to establish uniform standards among African countries in the fields of electricity, electronics and related technologies to ensure fast and universal access to energy. A continental electricity standard is on the way, said Paul Johnson, executive secretary of African Electrotechnical Standardization Commission of the AU. The commission currently has 13 members and it is trying to mobilize another 55 African countries to join the standardization.

(China Daily 03/31/2017 page12)