IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Western Pacific

8 rescued after US plane crashes

A plane carrying 11 crew and passengers crashed into the Western Pacific on Wednesday while on the way to the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, the Navy said. Eight people were rescued about 40 minutes after the crash. They were taken to the Reagan for medical evaluation and are in good condition, the Navy said. Three others remained missing. The Navy's Japan-based 7th Fleet said a search and rescue operation was launched from the carrier.

United States

Trump, Putin talk by phone on Syria

President Donald Trump spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, with Syria, fighting terrorism, Ukraine and other hotspot issues on the agenda. Both leaders stressed the importance of implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2254, and supporting the UN-led Geneva Process to peacefully resolve the Syrian domestic conflicts, end the humanitarian crisis, allow displaced Syrians to return home and ensure the stability of a unified Syria free of malign intervention and terrorist safe havens, the White House said in a statement.

Man charged over NY truck attack

A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted Sayfullo Saipov on terrorism and murder charges stemming from last month's truck attack in Lower Manhattan in which eight people were killed, the US Justice Department said in a statement. Saipov was arrested immediately after the Oct 31 attack in which he plowed a truck down a New York City bike lane and has been in federal custody. Saipov, an Uzbek immigrant, was hospitalized after he was shot by a police officer and arrested.

France

Le Pen slams banks over accounts

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, smarting from defeat in a presidential election where she denounced banks for refusing her campaign loans, accused bankers on Tuesday of "persecution" after they moved to close down her and her party's accounts. The 49-year-old, who is also struggling with feuding in her party after May's election loss, accused the head of HSBC France's retail banking business of shutting an account she had held for 25 years.

India

Maiden mission to sun in 2019

India will launch its first-ever mission to the sun in the next two years, the country's top space official has said. "Aditya-L1, India's maiden mission to the sun, will be launched in 2019. The main aim of the mission will be to resolve some of the long-standing queries in solar physics," head of the state-owned Indian Space Research Organization A.S. Kiran Kumar said on Tuesday. India had earlier successfully launched its maiden mission to the moon and Mars.

China Daily - Reuters - Xinhua

(China Daily 11/23/2017 page12)