Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Dec. 25
Xinhua, December 25, 2016 Adjust font size:
The two Libyan plane hijackers appeared at a Maltese court on Sunday, charged with a string of offences including terrorism.
The two Libyan men, 28-year-old Ali Saleh and 27-year-old Moussa Soko, arrived at Malta Law Courts on Sunday noon, escorted by armed guards.
They were charged with hijacking the plane and holding the 109 passengers and 6 crew members against their will. (Malta-Hijacker-Court)
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WASHINGTON -- U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday he plans to dissolve the charitable foundation bearing his name in attempts to avoid a possible conflict of interest.
"The Foundation has done enormous good works over the years in contributing millions of dollars to countless worthy groups, including supporting veterans, law enforcement officers and children," Trump said in a statement. (Trump-Fund)
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BEIJING -- An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale jolted Chile on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The epicenter, with a depth of 14.9 km, was initially determined to be at 43.312 degrees south latitude and 74.537 degrees west longitude. (Chile-Earthquake)
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ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan had freed 220 Indian fishermen as a goodwill gesture amid tension over cross-border fire exchanges in recent weeks, state radio reported on Sunday.
The fishermen, who had been detained for illegally entering Pakistani water for fishing, were freed from a jail in the port city of Karachi, Radio Pakistan reported. (Pakistan-India-Fishermen)
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TEHRAN -- Iran will launch a large-scale air defense exercise in the country's southern regions on Monday, reported Tasnim news agency on Sunday.
Iran's Air Defense Commander Brig. Gen. Farzad Esmaili said that the drill, code-named "Defenders of Velayat Skies 7," will cover the southern provinces of Hormozgan and Bushehr along with the southwestern province of Khuzestan. (Iran-Air-Exercise) Endi