IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Libya

Bodies of 74 migrants found

The bodies of 74 migrants have been found washed up on a beach near the western Libyan city of Zawiya, a Red Crescent spokesman said on Tuesday. Mohammed al-Misrati said the bodies had been recovered on Monday and that the migrants appeared to have died during the past two days. The migrants were all adults, mostly from sub-Saharan African countries, and all but three of them were men, Misrati said.

France

Far-right party's office raided

Investigators searched the headquarters of Marine Le Pen's far-right Front National Party in Paris on Monday, as part of an inquiry into alleged misuse of European fund to pay the party's staff. The European Parliament has accused Le Pen of paying party staff working in France with the EU fund worth $360,700, after she claimed they were European parliamentary assistants.

Iraq

Troops advance on western Mosul

Iraqi forces advanced on Monday into the southern outskirts of Mosul on the second day of a push to drive Islamic State militants from the city's western half, as the visiting US defense secretary met with officials to discuss the fight against the extremists. With aerial support from the US-led coalition, Iraqi army troops launched the offensive on Sunday.

Pakistan

Suicide bombers hit court; 4 killed

Suicide bombers attacked a court complex in Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least four people, officials said, in the latest incident in a new surge of extremist violence. A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban's Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction claimed responsibility for the attack in Charsadda. A string of bombings in Pakistan in the past 10 days has killed more than 100 people.

Israel

Soldier sentenced over fatal shooting

An Israeli military court on Tuesday sentenced a soldier to 18 months in prison for his deadly shooting of a Palestinian attacker who lay wounded on the ground, capping a nearly yearlong saga that has deeply divided the country. The sentence, which included a year's probation and a demotion in rank, was lighter than expected. Prosecutors had asked for a prison term of three to five years.

Japan

Kindergarten sorry over comment

A kindergarten in Osaka that has ties to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife, Akie, has apologized over online comments that domestic media described as possible hate speech against Koreans and Chinese people. Kyodo news agency reported on Friday that the kindergarten had apologized after referring to "irresponsible" South Korean and Chinese parents on its home page. Criticism of Korean residents and Chinese people is a common feature of right-wing rhetoric in Japan.

(China Daily 02/22/2017 page12)