World Briefs: Myanmar rebel group 'keen to make peace'

Myanmar rebel group 'keen to make peace'

YANGON • An ethnic rebel group locked in conflict with Myanmar's military is eager to broker peace with the new civilian president, a spokesman said yesterday, as the incoming government gears up to tackle the country's long-running insurgencies.

A spokesman for the Shan Ta'ang National Liberation Army, one of several rebel armies that did not sign a broad ceasefire deal pushed by the government last year, said its people are wearied by the ongoing clashes and ready to work with the new civilian leader Htin Kyaw, who was elected in a parliamentary vote last week.

AGFENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


Close shave between drone, Airbus jet

LOS ANGELES • The pilot of a Lufthansa passenger jumbo jet reported a drone aircraft nearly collided with the airliner on its landing approach to Los Angeles International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The close encounter between the wide-body, four-engine Airbus A-380 and the drone occurred at about 1.30pm local time on Friday at an altitude of 152m as the unmanned aircraft passed about 61m over the Lufthansa flight 22.5 km east of the airport, the FAA said.

REUTERS


New UK minister named after welfare cuts row

LONDON • British Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday appointed a new welfare minister, Mr Stephen Crabb, to replace former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, whose shock resignation left the government reeling.

He quit on Friday over planned cuts in welfare payments for people with disabilities, blaming finance minister George Osborne in a scathing resignation letter.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on March 20, 2016, with the headline World Briefs: Myanmar rebel group 'keen to make peace'. Subscribe