MH17 suspects 'to be confirmed next year'

SYDNEY • The names of people being probed for playing "an active role" in the downing of Flight MH17 will be confirmed by early next year, Australia's foreign minister said yesterday.

Australia is part of the Dutch-led criminal inquiry into the crash of the Malaysia Airlines jet in Ukraine in July 2014 which killed 298 people.

The initial findings released earlier last week concluded the plane was shot down by a missile transported from Russia.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Navy airlifts families as hurricane nears

PORT-AU-PRINCE • The United States evacuated hundreds of people from its Guantanamo Bay naval base yesterday as a powerful cyclone ground slowly towards Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba.

The US Navy said earlier some 700 spouses and children were to be airlifted to Florida to wait out Hurricane Matthew.

REUTERS

400 evacuated as volcano spews lava

COLIMA • Mexican authorities have evacuated 400 people as a precaution as a major volcano spews lava, officials said on Saturday.

Authorities imposed a security perimeter of 12km around the so-called Volcano of Fire in the western state of Colima.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE