Briefly

UNITED STATES

FBI records on Martin Luther King Jr released

The US Justice Department on Monday released records of the FBI's surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr, despite concerns from the civil rights leader's family. The digital documents include more than 230,000 pages of records that had been under a court-imposed seal since 1977. King was assassinated in April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, as he increasingly extended his attention from a nonviolent campaign for equal rights for African Americans to economic issues and calls for peace. In a statement on Monday, King's two surviving children, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, said they were concerned the records could be used for "attacks on our father's legacy".

BANGLADESH

Death toll from jet crash at school hits 31

The death toll from a fighter jet crash into a school in Bangladesh rose to 31 on Tuesday, including at least 25 students, many under the age of 12. Firefighters further secured the site in the capital Dhaka's densely populated Uttara neighborhood while the military launched an investigation. Bangladesh declared Tuesday a day of national mourning.

DPRK

3rd Choe Hyon-class destroyer to be built

A major shipyard in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea announced its plan to build another advanced destroyer, the Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday. In a mobilization gathering held on Monday, the Nampho Shipyard pledged to build its third Choe Hyon-class destroyer by Oct 10 next year, a date marking the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea, the KCNA said. Yun Chi-gol, manager of the Nampho Shipyard, highlighted the shipmaker's success in building the country's first new-generation multi-mission destroyer. He called on shipyard workers to build the new warship within the designated time frame.

Agencies - Xinhua