IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Nigeria

At least 50 die in church attacks

More than 50 people were killed in the latest attacks blamed on Boko Haram Islamists that targeted churches in Nigeria's embattled northeast, a Borno state government official said on Monday. "So far we have 54 dead," said the official, who requested anonymity, of the raids on four villages just outside Chibok, where Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in April.

Australia

Bishop charged with sex abuse

One of the most senior members of the Catholic Church in Australia has stepped down from his role after being charged with child sex abuse, the church said on Monday. Max Davis, who heads the church's military diocese, is reportedly Australia's most senior clergyman and the first Australian Catholic bishop to be charged with a child sex offense. It is alleged he sexually abused a student while teaching at St Benedict's College near Perth in 1969 - two years before he was ordained.

Italy

30 migrants found dead

Up to 30 corpses were found on a boat packed with migrants off the coast of Sicily, Italy's navy said on Monday after rescuing thousands of people trying to cross from North Africa at the weekend. The dead are thought to have either suffocated on the overcrowded fishing vessel or drowned, the navy said. The discovery underlined the scale of the crisis in the southern Mediterranean, where hundreds have died in the past year making the journey to Europe, and tens of thousands more have been plucked from rickety boats. More than 5,000 people were rescued at the weekend, adding to the 50,000 migrants who have reached Italy from North Africa so far this year.

Thailand

Army launches poll overhaul

Thailand's military government said on Monday it has begun an overhaul of the electoral system following an announcement by military leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha that polls could take place by late 2015. The military took power on May 22 following six months of street demonstrations that contributed to the ousting of prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Indonesia

Presidential hopeful backed

Indonesia's ruling Democratic Party, headed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said on Monday it is backing presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto ahead of next week's election, media said. The world's third-largest democracy is due to choose a new leader on July 9 in what recent polls show will be a tight race between ex-general Prabowo and Jakarta governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

(China Daily 07/01/2014 page11)