IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Iran

Black box found after jet accident

Investigators on Monday found the "black box" from a Turkish private jet that crashed in an Iranian mountain range on its way from the United Arab Emirates to Istanbul, killing all 11 people on board likely including a Turkish bride-to-be and her bachelorette party. Authorities have so far recovered 10 bodies from the crash site in the Zagros Mountains outside of the city of Shahr-e Kord, some 370 kilometers south of Iran's capital, Teheran.

United States

New plan over school shootings

The White House unveiled a new plan to prevent school shootings that backs off President Donald Trump's support for increasing the minimum age for purchasing assault weapons to 21. Instead, a new federal commission on school safety will examine the age issue as part of a package the White House announced on Sunday in response to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, last month that left 17 dead. The administration also pledged to help states pay for firearms training for teachers.

Syria

More civilians leave rebel enclave

A small group of Syrian civilians on Monday left the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta just outside Damascus, using a corridor established by the Syrian Army amid the military's gains that have effectively divided the area into three parts. State-run Syrian TV broadcast footage showing a group of men, women and children it says left the town of Madyara after it was captured by Syrian troops on Sunday. Several women were shown carrying babies and welcoming the Syrian Army. They claimed the rebels were preventing civilians from leaving Eastern Ghouta. Recapturing the enclave would mark one of the most significant victories for the Syrian government in the seven-year civil war.

Russia

Spy attack 'not a matter for govt'

The Kremlin has rejected suggestions that it might be behind the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy and his daughter that has left them in critical condition. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, told reporters that Sergei Skripal worked for British intelligence and was poisoned on British soil, and therefore the incident "has nothing to do with Russia, let alone the Russian leadership". Peskov also said the Kremlin has not heard any official statements of Russian involvement.

India

Farmers march to demand help

Tens of thousands of farmers who marched up to six days from across western India arrived on Monday in the country's business capital to demand loan waivers, fair prices for their produce and other help as India's agriculture sector struggles from years of declining earnings. The farmers, the bulk of them impoverished, plan to surround the state legislature of the western state of Maharashtra in Mumbai. Many had walked barefoot in the already soaring March temperatures. The farmers want the government to ensure they earn at least one and a half cost they incur in producing their crops.

(China Daily 03/13/2018 page11)