IN BRIEF (Page 11)

United States

Trump under fire for attack on Democrats

US President Donald Trump took aim at progressive Democratic congresswomen on Sunday, telling them to "go back" where they came from in remarks that sparked yet another firestorm over his views on race and immigration. Trump - whose comments were branded "racist" and "xenophobic" by Democratic presidential candidates and senior legislators - last year reportedly referred to countries in Africa as "shithole" nations, and has spoken of an "invasion" of migrants. He was also a leading proponent of the "birther" conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was not born on US soil and therefore could not legally be president. On Sunday, Trump referred on Twitter to "Progressive' Democrat Congresswomen" in remarks that appeared to be aimed at a group of outspoken relatively young, liberal women of color, all first-time members of the House of Representatives. They "originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world", Trump tweeted.

737 Max unlikely to restart until 2020

Grounded Boeing 737 Max planes are unlikely to restart carrying passengers until 2020 as it will take time to fix flight-control software and complete other work, government and industry officials have said. The aircraft is currently expected to return to the air in January 2020, fully 12 months after the company proposed the initial replacement of software implicated in deadly crashes, according to US Federal Aviation Administration officials and industry leaders. Boeing executives, FAA engineers and global aviation regulators have extended the safety analyses to cover a growing list of almost all the issues from emergency recovery process to potentially suspect electronic components. The 737 Max has been grounded across the world since March this year after two of its jets crashed in separate deadly disasters in Indonesia and Ethiopia last October and this March, with a total of 346 killed.

India

Building collapse claims 12 lives

Eleven soldiers were among a dozen bodies recovered from the debris of a three-story building that collapsed after monsoon rains hit a hilly area of northern India, officials said on Monday. Rescuers were looking for two to three people still unaccounted after Sunday's collapse, said Gaurav Srivastav, an official from the National Disaster Response Force. Fire official Raja Ram Bhagate said the dead included 11 army soldiers who were having a party in a ground floor restaurant in the building when it collapsed. One civilian also was killed. Several soldiers were among the 31 people rescued after the collapse occurred in Solan, a town in Himachal Pradesh state. The area is 310 kilometers north of New Delhi.

Agencies - Xinhua

(China Daily 07/16/2019 page11)