Russia proves Ukraine shot down flight MH17

Moscow said the missile that shot down MH17 was delivered to Ukraine during the Soviet era and was not returned to Russia. "The serial number on the missile is 886847379. This is the serial number of the BUK missile system that was sent by rail to military unit 20152 on December 29, 1986," senior Russian military official Nikolai Parshin said, according toAFP.

He said the military unit was located in Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union, adding that the information was top secret. "After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the missiles were not brought to Russia but were transferred to the Ukrainian armed forces," he said. Russia said it had sent information about the missiles to the Netherlands.

Boeing 777 flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed outside the separatist stronghold of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people on board, most of them Dutch.

Thailand: 3 opposition party members accused of spreading fake news

Mr. Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit (center). Source: Reuters

Thai police have charged the founder and two members of an opposition party with violating the Computer Crime Act, which carries a possible sentence of up to five years in prison and a 100,000 baht (more than $3,000) fine.

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, 39, founder of the Future Forward Party, and two senior members of the party were charged with violating the law after turning themselves in at a Bangkok police station. The three were accused of spreading false information in a speech posted on Facebook by Thanathorn on June 29.

Meanwhile, Mr. Thanatorn, a billionaire who has recently turned to politics, said he and two colleagues denied the allegations.

15 policeAfghanistankilled in actionfighting with Taliban rebels

Afghan police stand guard at a security checkpoint in Ghazni. Photo: EPA-EFE/TTXVN

Afghan officials say 15 police officers have been killed in recent clashes in two western provinces of the South Asian country. The first incident occurred early on September 17 when Taliban insurgents attacked a police station on the outskirts of Qala-e-Naw, the capital of Badghis province, killing five police officers, including a senior official. Police also killed several insurgents during the gun battle with the Taliban.

Earlier, on the night of September 16, in Farah province, bordering Iran, 10 policemen were killed after clashes broke out in Gajgin village in Pusht Rod district, north of the city and capital of the same name of this province.

The Taliban also seized weapons and ammunition after attacking security checkpoints there. They then destroyed the checkpoints. According to a local source, two policemen are still missing.

French Education Ministry announces plans to cut thousands of jobs

French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer has announced plans to cut 1,800 salaried employees from the ministry next year.

The streamlining plan will only involve secondary schools and administrative facilities to better organize the entire sector structure while still ensuring supervision.

Accordingly, the French Ministry of Education will cut at least 400 administrative positions in 2019. The total number of jobs cut (1,800 people) accounts for 0.2% of the Ministry's total of more than 1 million employees.

Minister Blanquer added that the French government plans to increase spending on the country's Education Ministry by about 1.7%, mainly to increase teachers' salaries and encourage the creation of more jobs in primary schools.

China demands Taiwan stop espionage activities

Xinhua quoted An Fengshan, spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, as calling on agencies in Taiwan to "immediately stop espionage activities".

The announcement came as Chinese state television aired the first episode of a series on September 15 detailing cases of Chinese students studying in Taiwan being persuaded to engage in espionage. The program said Taiwanese spies used money or affection to extract information from mainland students.

In response, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said Beijing had "staged the incident" against Taipei and denied the accusations, urging mainland Chinese authorities not to exploit students studying in Taiwan for political purposes. The agency said such a move would increase suspicion and misunderstanding between the two sides.

Philippine President Wants to Close All Mining Sites

The site of the landslide that killed 30 miners. Source: rappler.com

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte reaffirmed his desire to close all mines nationwide after deadly landslides caused by super typhoon Mangkhut, speaking at a meeting of the government's disaster response committee on September 17.

Earlier, Philippine Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu ordered the closure of all small-scale mining sites in the Cordillera region on the main island of Luzon after landslides in the area killed 24 people.

Illegal mining is widespread in the Philippines. Government officials say small-scale, illegal mining is responsible for the high death toll from landslides.

Europe makes new proposals for Iran

On September 17, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that Tehran had received new proposals from Europe that could meet the Islamic Republic's demands for continued trade cooperation while maintaining the historic nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed by Iran and the P5+1 Group (including the UK, US, Russia, France, China and Germany) in 2015.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said previous proposals made by the European side did not guarantee that Iran could continue to sell its oil at the desired level as well as access to international financial markets, so these proposals were "set aside".

As alternative proposals have been put forward, the two sides are looking for mechanisms to continue economic cooperation after the US withdrew from the historic nuclear deal and is imposing sanctions on Tehran. Qassemi expressed hope that these new proposals will fully meet Tehran's demands.

India launches smart fence project along Pakistan border

Border area between Pakistan and India. Source: statetimes.in

The Indian government on September 17 launched a project to build the first smart fence along the internationally recognized border with Pakistan in Jammu city, Kashmir region.

Under this project, laser-based fences will be used to "block" gaps that are easily exploited by criminals to cross the border areas between India and Pakistan, allowing the Indian Border Guard and Army to monitor activities in these areas 24/7 in all weather conditions.

According to Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the country is now making the most of modern technology to enhance security in border areas. Smart fences in border areas are a technological solution to solve security issues and with these fences, terrorists are almost unable to infiltrate from Pakistan to Indian territory.