World briefs

MALAYSIA Two Malaysian boys whose father was a passenger on the jetliner that vanished last year secured an out-of-court settlement in the first legal case against Malaysia Airlines and the government.

UK Charles Kennedy, who led Britain’s Liberal Democrats to one of its best election results ever before resigning dramatically after admitting he was receiving treatment for an alcohol problem, has died. He was 55.

UK Four people were seriously injured yesterday afternoon after two carriages collided on the “Smiler” roller coaster ride at Alton Towers, a famous theme park in Staffordshire.

USA Secretary of State John Kerry headed home with a broken leg, as U.S. officials insisted his injury would not hinder his participation in nuclear negotiations with Iran. He was scheduled to have surgery yesterday at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

USA  The fate of the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of American phone data is now in the hands of the U.S. Senate. But whatever the outcome of yesterday’s scheduled vote, it is increasingly clear that the NSA will ultimately be out of the business of collecting and storing American calling records. The House bill before the Senate, known as the USA Freedom Act, would reauthorize the surveillance, but would phase out NSA phone records collection over time.

CANADA A judge has awarded more than $15 billion Canadian (USD12 billion) to Quebec smokers in a case that pitted them against three giant tobacco companies. The case is believed to be the biggest class-action lawsuit ever seen in Canada. More on p14

GREECE has submitted a proposal to its bailout lenders in a hope to get desperately needed rescue money, but the creditors were quick to say it still did not offer sufficient reforms. More on p15

IRAQ At a meeting in Paris, Iraq’s prime minister has called for more intelligence and more action from international allies against Islamic State extremists. Haider al-Abadi says the flow of foreign fighters across the border into Iraq has not slowed, and the radical Sunni group now is majority foreign.

RUSSIA The Russian maker of the Buk air defense missile system says it has concluded that Malaysian Airlines flight 17 was downed by an older version of the missile, which isn’t in service with the Russian military but is in Ukrainian arsenals.