IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Philippines

Hostages rescued after 8 months

Philippine marine troops on Thursday rescued two Malaysian men held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf militant group for eight months. The men were found in a boat off the remote Pata Island in Sulu province in southern Philippines. The men Sumas were among five crew members of the tugboat Serudung 3, who were abducted by the Abu Sayyaf bandits on July 19 last year.

South Korea

Majority support Park arrest: poll

More than seven out of 10 South Koreans supported the arrest of ousted President Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal that led to her impeachment. According to a Realmeter survey released on Thursday, 72.3 percent agreed with the investigation into Park, with 25.1 percent of respondents against the detention. Almost 90 percent of those in their 20s to 40s supported Park's arrest, while 52.3 percent of those in their 60s or older opposed it.

Brazil

Ministers accused of corrupt links

Brazilian Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot asked the Supreme Court to open an investigation into nine ministers over their suspected links to the Petrobras corruption ring and the Odebrecht construction company. Janot's requests came after 77 Odebrecht executives agreed in February to reveal corrupt links between the company and government officials in exchange for reductions on their sentences.

Thailand

Man negligent in girlfriend's death

A court on Thursday gave a suspended one-year prison sentence to an Australian man whose girlfriend died when their personal watercraft collided at high speed off the southern resort island of Phuket. Thomas Keating, 22, pleaded guilty at Phuket Provincial Court and was handed a one-year sentence suspended for two years for criminal negligence that led to the death last month of fellow Australian Emily Jayne Collie, 20.

Egypt

Food poisoning halts school meals

Egypt's education ministry has suspended the distribution of school meals after outbreaks of food poisoning sickened hundreds of children. The ministry said in a statement published late on Wednesday that a committee will be formed to "find out the reasons behind these occurrences ... and conduct required investigations."

Australia

Birdwatchers spot 'extinct' parrot

A group of four birdwatchers have spotted an Australian night parrot, once thought extinct, for the first time in a century. The sighting of the night parrot, native to Australia, came three years after the bird was declared extinct and 2,000 kilometers from where it was first rediscovered in Western Queensland.

(China Daily 03/24/2017 page12)