Republic of Korea

US helicopter crashes

A US military helicopter taking part in a joint Republic of Korea-US drill crashed on Tuesday near the Democratic People's Republic of Korea border with 21 personnel on board. There were no fatalities. A statement issued by the US Forces in Korea said the CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter had "executed a hard landing" while on a routine flight operation in Cheolwon county. The precise cause of the accident was not immediately known.

Iraq

Bomb attacks claim 8

Bombings in Iraq, including one against a governor's convoy, killed eight people on Tuesday, a day after a wave of attacks left 50 dead ahead of the first elections since US troops withdrew. A car bomb killed four people and wounded 15 in Aziziyah, while a roadside bomb killed a soldier and wounded two near Mussayib, both south of the Iraqi capital, security and medical officials said.

Ghana

17 killed in mine collapse

A gold mine collapse in central Ghana has killed 17 people who were working illegally and had been told to leave by the operator, police said on Tuesday. The operator had completed its work at the mine near the town of Kyekyewere and returned only to shut down the operation and carry out reclamation work, said area police commander William Otu.

Syria

Rebels' sentences cut

Syria's president slashed the prison terms of an unspecified number of rebels convicted as "terrorists", reducing their sentences on Tuesday by three-quarters, state media reported. Bashar al-Assad also reduced the sentences of an unknown number of convicted criminals ahead of the country's independence day, according to a presidential decree.

United States

Guantanamo closure urged

The indefinite detention of prisoners at the Guantanamo detention camp is "abhorrent and intolerable" and should end by the time US troops leave Afghanistan next year, an independent US task force said in a report released on Tuesday. The group urged US President Barack Obama to declare the war over when US troops withdraw from Afghanistan at the end of 2014.

Indonesia

Wreckage to be removed

Indonesian investigators were set on Tuesday to cut up the wreckage of the Lion Air plane that crashed off Bali on Saturday and haul it to a beach as they probe what caused the accident, the military said.

AP-Reuters-AFP

(China Daily 04/17/2013 page11)