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Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Dec. 21

Xinhua, December 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

It is currently impossible to decipher the flight recorder of Russia's Su-24 fighter jet downed by Turkey as the microchips have been damaged, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday here.

"Decoding of the data from the microchips is impossible at this point due to internal damages, and we are considering asking for help from Russia's specialized scientific institutions to read the data," Sergei Bainetov, head of the ministry's flight safety department, told a press briefing. (Russia-Fighter jet)

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KABUL -- Afghan security forces have pressed on to clear the militants in restive provinces and killed 43 militants in the latest operations, the country's Defense Ministry said on Monday.

The ministry said in a statement that they also found and seized weapons and ammunition besides defusing dozens of landmines and roadside planted bombs, confirming the loss of four army soldiers during clashes and separate attacks across the country over the same period. (Afghanistan-Militant-Killing)

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BANGKOK -- A tour bus carrying 25 people crashed in northern Thailand's Chiang Mai Province on Sunday morning, killing 13 people, including 12 Malaysian tourists and one Thai tour guide, the Chinese Consulate General in Chiang Mai said.

Twelve others were injured in the accident, including 10 Malaysian tourists, a Malaysian tour guide and a Thai driver, the consulate general said. (Thailand-Bus-Accident)

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TEHRAN -- The Islamic republic and Saudi Arabia have started diplomatic efforts for direct talks on the regional issues, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said here on Monday.

Iran said earlier that Iran was ready for talks with Saudi Arabia for the good of the region and to solve problems inflicted on the regional countries. However, Saudi Arabia has long accused Iran of arming and financing Houthi Shiite fighters in Yemen, an accusation strongly rejected by Tehran. (Iran-Saudi Arabia-Talk)

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BRUSSELS -- The European Union (EU) said Monday that it prolonged the economic sanctions against Russia until July 31, 2016 in a statement.

The sanctions were initially introduced for one year on July 31, 2014, in response to Russia's actions in the east of Ukraine. EU leaders then decided to link the duration of the sanctions to the complete implementation of the Minsk agreements, which was foreseen to take place by Dec. 31, 2015. (EU-Russia-Sanctions) Endi