Briefly

IRAN

10 jailed for 2020 Ukraine jet downing

Iran has sentenced 10 members of the armed forces to prison after finding them guilty of involvement in the downing of a Ukrainian airliner, Reuters quoted the judiciary's Mizan Online website as saying on Sunday. Iranian forces shot down Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 shortly after its takeoff from Teheran on Jan 8, 2020, killing all 176 people on board. Mizan reported that a commander received the heaviest penalty of 10 years in prison for having defied orders in shooting down the plane. Nine other personnel were sentenced to between one and three years. Iran's judiciary said in November 2021 that a trial had opened in Teheran for 10 military members in connection with the jet's downing. In January last year, Iran said it had begun paying compensation to the families of those killed.

INDIA

Heatstroke kills 11 at awards event

Eleven people died of heatstroke in India after an estimated 1 million spectators waited for hours in the sun at a government-sponsored awards ceremony, officials said on Monday. Around 20 people were hospitalized and 300 felt ill at the event near the western city of Mumbai on Sunday, when temperatures hit close to 38 C with high levels of humidity, local media reported. Senior government officials attended the ceremony, including Interior Minister Amit Shah, who praised the crowd for waiting so long in the sun. The office of Maharashtra's Chief Minister Eknath Shinde described it as a "sad and disturbing incident" and promised compensation for the victims' relatives. The opposition Congress party accused the government of negligence and said it should face criminal charges.

UNITED STATES

Sotheby's to auction world's largest ruby

The largest ruby in the world to come to the auction will be offered by Sotheby's in New York in June, the auction house said at a preview in Hong Kong on Monday, and is estimated to achieve more than $30 million. That would probably make the 55.22-carat gem, known as the Estrela de Fura, the most expensive ruby ever sold at auction, Uni Kim, a specialist in Sotheby's jewelry department told Reuters. The current world record for a ruby sold at auction was set in May 2015 by "Sunrise Ruby", a 25.59-carat Burmese stone that fetched $30.3 million at Sotheby's in Geneva. Estrela de Fura, or "Star of Fura" in Portuguese, was unearthed from mining company Fura's ruby mine in Mozambique's northern Montepeuz region in July.

Agencies - Xinhua