IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Brazil

36 charged with corruption

Brazilian federal prosecutors announced on Thursday they have formally charged 36 people linked to a corruption and money-laundering scheme at state oil and gas giant Petrobras. Twenty-three of the 36 are connected to construction firms that defrauded the company with the help of Petrobras directors who received kickbacks.

Nicaragua

37 fishermen still missing

Thirty-seven fishermen remain missing in Caribbean waters off Nicaragua after their boat capsized on Tuesday, a naval official said on Thursday. The head of the Nicaraguan army's naval force in the northern Caribbean, Lieutenant Lenin Amador, said 13 of the 50 fishermen aboard the ship managed to swim ashore and were rescued.

Mexico

Congress bans circus animals

Mexico's congress has passed legislation to ban the use of animals in circuses across the country. The lower chamber's vote on Thursday followed one earlier in the week by the Senate and came six months after Mexico City passed a similar ban that will go into effect next year. Six states also adopted bans.

Nigeria

Boko Haram behind bombing

A double bomb attack that killed 31 people in a crowded market in the central Nigerian city of Jos was likely carried out by Boko Haram, the state government said on Friday. "It's an extension of the terrorist acts that have been penetrating all states and cities," said Pam Ayuba, spokesman for Plateau state Governor Jonah Jang. The blasts happened at about 6 pm on Thursday (1 am on Friday, Beijing time) at a makeshift market near the bus terminus, not far from the site of a previous attack in May that left at least 118 dead.

Germany

Court rejects call for visit

Germany's highest court has thrown out a bid by opposition parties to force the government to allow former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden to come to Berlin to testify about the agency's activities. Members of the opposition Greens and Left Party want a parliamentary panel investigating the NSA's activities to hear Snowden in person. However, the government doesn't want to allow Snowden into the country, citing the potential damage to relations with the United States.

Xinhua - AP - AFP

(China Daily 12/13/2014 page12)