IN BRIEF (Page 9)

India

30 killed during Holi revelry

At least 30 people were killed and dozens injured during Holi revelry in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, state-run broadcaster All India Radio said on Friday. The deaths were reported in different parts of the state. According to the broadcaster, 19 people were killed in the state's capital city Lucknow alone in group clashes, road accidents because of drunken driving. Holi, also known as the festival of colors, was celebrated across India on Thursday.

France

12 people die in minibus crash

Twelve Portuguese passengers, including a seven-year-old girl, died when their minibus collided with a heavy goods truck on a road in central France known locally as "the road of death". The crash occurred late on Thursday as the minibus was traveling from Switzerland to Portugal, taking the passengers home for the Easter holidays. Authorities said the minibus swerved for an unknown reason and slammed head-first into the truck on a notorious traffic blackspot near the town of Moulins.

Mad cow disease case detected

France has found a case of mad cow disease, its first since 2011, the agriculture ministry said on Thursday, calling the occurrence "isolated" and saying consumers were not at risk. The case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy was detected in the northeastern region of the Ardennes, near the Belgian border, the ministry said in a statement. About 100 cattle will be slaughtered within a month, as per the rules in such cases, following the discovery of the BSE case, the ministry said.

Nigeria

Boko Haram abducts 16 women

About 16 women have been abducted by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Sabongari village of restive northeast Nigeria's Adamawa state, police said on Thursday. The women were abducted on Wednesday when they went to obtain firewood in nearby forest, Aliu Fari, a local village hunter told reporters.

United States

Woman ends lawsuit over leaks

A Florida woman is abandoning her federal lawsuit over leaks in the investigation that led to the resignation of former CIA director David Petraeus. Kelley and her husband, Scott, sued the federal government in 2013. They alleged that officials violated the US Privacy Act by disclosing information about them during the FBI's investigation of Petraeus.

The Philippines

Seized DPRK ship released

The Philippines has released a DPRK freighter it seized nearly a month ago under tough new UN sanctions, after no contraband was found onboard and the ship was cleared by the United Nations, officials said on Friday. The M/V Jin Teng, a 6,830 deadweight ton cargo ship with its 21 crew from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, left on Thursday afternoon after clearing immigration, customs, quarantine and port authorities, said coastguard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo.

Xinhua - AFP - AP - Reuters

(China Daily 03/26/2016 page9)