World briefs

CHINA Four men in eastern China accused of murder and rape have been exonerated after a 16-year legal ordeal in the latest instance of Chinese courts overturning deeply flawed verdicts. A Jiangxi province high court announced it cleared the men accused of killing a woman in 2000, apologized and offered them an opportunity to seek compensation.

RUSSIA Fragments of a plane were dragged out of the Black Sea on Monday amid a massive search operation as Russian officials declared that their investigation into the crash would focus on technical faults or pilot errors

THAILAND Police charged a suspect with participating in recent hacking attacks on government computers that were billed as a protest against a restrictive law governing internet use.

MONGOLIA  Hundreds of Mongolian protesters demanded the government do more to address worsening air pollution that they fear is sickening their children and shortening their lives.

TURKEY has complained about a lack of aerial support from the U.S.-led coalition for its operations against the Islamic State group in northern Syria, calling on the coalition “to carry out its responsibilities.”

GERMANY Several hundred peace activists have started what they say will be a months-long protest march from Berlin to war-ravaged Syria to urge an end to the fighting there. The Civil March for Aleppo set off carrying white flags from Berlin’s former Tempelhof Airport yesterday in cloudy, cold and blustery weather.

US Donald Trump said he intends to dissolve his charitable foundation to resolve concerns about possible ethics conflicts. “To avoid even the appearance of any conflict with my role as President I have decided to continue to pursue my strong interest in philanthropy in other ways,” the president-elect said.

CHILE A powerful earthquake shook southern Chile on Sunday, but there were no immediate reports of deaths and only minor known damage. Some 4,000 people had been evacuated for fear of a possible tsunami following the quake, but the alert was eased about 90 minutes after the temblor.

COLOMBIAN aviation authorities say a preliminary investigation has found that the plane that crashed with a Brazilian soccer team aboard had run out of fuel. Yesterday’s statement by the Civil Aeronautics agency says the conclusion is based on the plane’s black boxes and other evidence. The British Aerospace 146 operated by the Bolivia-based LaMia charter company crashed as it was trying to approach the airport in Medellin