Briefly

UNITED STATES

Biden delays order blocking steel merger

US authorities have extended the deadline for Japan's Nippon Steel to abandon its acquisition of US Steel after President Joe Biden blocked the deal, the companies said on Sunday. Biden cited national security concerns as he put a stop to the $14.9 billion sale of US Steel to Nippon Steel. Accusing Biden of "illegal interference", the companies filed a legal review with the US Court of Appeals. The administration will now hold off enforcing the order until June 18, Nippon Steel and US Steel said, extending an initial 30-day deadline.

Trump prosecutor leaves Justice Dept

US Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led the twin investigations into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and his mishandling of classified documents, has resigned, as the president-elect prepares to return to the White House. The Justice Department disclosed Smith's departure in a court filing on Saturday, saying he had resigned one day earlier. After Trump's Nov 5 election win, Smith dropped both cases, citing a long-standing Justice Department rule against prosecuting sitting presidents.

SOUTH KOREA

Black boxes fail to record final 4 minutes

The two black boxes on the Boeing jet involved in the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil stopped recording about four minutes before the accident, the Transport Ministry said on Saturday. South Korean investigators previously said the flight data and cockpit voice recorders were key to finding out the cause of last month's crash that killed 179 people. It happened about four minutes after the pilot of the airliner operated by Jeju Air reported a bird strike. Authorities plan to analyze what caused the black boxes to stop recording, the ministry said.

DENMARK

Greenland PM stresses island's independence

Greenland's leader said on Friday he had not been in contact with US President-elect Donald Trump, who has said he wants control over the Arctic island, and urged everyone to respect Greenland's wish for independence. "We have a desire for independence, a desire to be the master of our own house ...This is something everyone should respect," Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede said at a news conference alongside Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen. "Greenland is for the Greenlandic people. We do not want to be Danish, we do not want to be American. We want to be Greenlandic."

FRANCE

Collision of trams leaves 68 injured

At least 68 people were injured when two trams collided in Strasbourg in eastern France, authorities said on Sunday. The crash occurred on Saturday afternoon after one of the trams switched tracks and collided with a stationary tram at Strasbourg's central station, one of the busiest in France outside Paris, BFM TV said. The moving tram, which had stopped because of a traffic jam, reversed and rolled down a slope leading to the station, AFP reported.

Agencies via Xinhua