IN BRIEF (Page 12)

RUSSIA

Chinese tourists injured in Moscow bus accident

A bus carrying a group of 30 Chinese tourists, a tour guide and an organizer, crashed into a utility pole in east Moscow on Sunday, injuring 11 people, Russian police told Chinese consular officials. Surveillance camera footage showed that the accident happened when the bus turned right abruptly to avoid rear-ending cars waiting for the traffic light at an intersection and then bumped against the utility pole, smashing the windscreen. The injured have been taken to the hospital for medical checkups. One suffered a nasal fracture and one received a cerebral concussion, while the rest got bruises, according to the Chinese consular service. The bus was bound for the ancient town of Suzdal in the Vladimir Region northeast of Moscow. The group of tourists arrived in Moscow on Saturday and planned to fly back to China on Aug 23.

UNITED STATES

Trump hails 'very good' talks with the Taliban

US President Donald Trump on Sunday hailed progress in negotiations on an Afghanistan peace deal, saying that talks with both the Taliban and the Afghan government are going well. But while Trump said the United States has things "under control", a massive bombing in Kabul highlighted the rampant violence still plaguing Afghanistan. "We're having very good discussions with the Taliban... with the Afghan government," Trump said. Expectations are rising for a deal in which the US would start withdrawing its soldiers from Afghanistan after nearly two decades of war that has ground into a stalemate. "We've really got it down to probably 13,000 people and we'll be bringing it down a little bit more and then we'll decide whether or not we'll be staying longer or not," Trump said.

Xinhua - Afp

(China Daily 08/20/2019 page12)