IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Syria

2 killed in Russian war plane crash

An advanced Russian multi-role fighter plane crashed in Syria on Thursday morning shortly after take-off, killing both members of its crew, the Russian military was cited as saying by Russian news agencies. The two-seater Sukhoi-30SM jet crashed after taking off from Russia's Hmeymim air base in Latakia Province. Agencies cited the Ministry of Defence in Moscow as saying its two crew members had tried in vain to save the plane until the last moment.

Brazil

Dozens shot dead since Sunday

Local media reported that 33 people have been shot dead in the northern city of Belem since Sunday, when police officer Maria de Fatima dos Santos was gunned down. However, the state's Public Security Department said on Wednesday it could not confirm the number of dead. The Brazilian think tank Igarape says Belem averaged 2.5 homicides a day last year. Many killings involve shootings between drug gangs or shootouts between gangs and police officers.

United States

Black men settle with Starbucks

Two black men arrested while waiting at a Philadelphia Starbucks store reached a financial settlement with the coffee chain and dropped legal claims against the city. The city agreed to pay each man $1 and committed $200,000 to fund an entrepreneurship program for public school students. Starbucks said it had invited the men to complete their undergraduate degrees through the company's tuition-paid online education partnership with Arizona State University.

Teen jailed for school attack

A teenager who shot a classmate in an Ohio high school bathroom has been sentenced to over 23 years in prison. Attorney Dennis Lieberman said 18-year-old Ely Serna believed he was following a deity's orders when he opened fire in January 2017 at West Liberty-Salem High School. The classmate who was critically wounded said in court on Wednesday that he forgives Serna, but asked that he receive the maximum possible sentence. The judge obliged.

Australia

Bank loses 20m financial records

The country's troubled Commonwealth Bank admitted on Thursday it had lost financial records for almost 20 million customers in a major security blunder, but insisted there was no need to worry. The nation's biggest company said it could not find two magnetic data tapes that stored names, addresses, account numbers and transaction details from 2000 to 2016. National broadcaster ABC said the records were supposed to have been destroyed but the bank had not confirmed this.

Reuters - Ap - Afp

(China Daily 05/04/2018 page12)