IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Nigeria

18 killed in Boko Haram attack

At least 18 people were killed and 84 wounded when Boko Haram extremists clashed with Nigerian soldiers near the northeastern city of Maiduguri overnight, the emergency services agency said on Monday. "So far we have recovered 18 dead bodies from the two villages Bale Shuwa and Bale Kura," on the outskirts of Maiduguri, said the State Emergency Management Agency. "The victims were killed while trying to escape the fight between the insurgents and the military."

Somalia

Al-Shabaab militants target AU base

Heavily-armed al-Shabaab militants attacked an African Union military camp outside Mogadishu on Sunday, where peacekeepers from Uganda are stationed, security officials and witnesses said. Local sources said a massive blast was heard in the Bulomarer district, some 150 kilometers from Mogadishu, and fighting broke out after dozens of heavily armed Shabaab militants stormed the base. The Uganda People's Defense Forces said its forces killed 30 terrorists on Sunday.

Japan

Half of voters don't support Abe's govt

About half of Japanese voters don't support Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration amid suspected cronyism and cover-up, opinion polls by Japanese media showed. The Yomiuri newspaper's survey issued on Monday showed that the disapproval rating for Abe's Cabinet rose to 50 percent from early March, compared with 47.5 percent in the Kyodo News agency's survey published on Sunday.

Bahrain

Largest oil discovery in nation's history

Bahrain on Sunday announced it has discovered the largest oil and gas field in the history of the small kingdom, which unlike its Gulf neighbors is not energy-rich. "The new resource is forecast to contain highly significant quantities of tight (light crude) oil and deep gas, dwarfing Bahrain's current reserves," said the country's Higher Committee for Natural Resources. Bahrain currently has only one oilfield with several hundred million barrels of crude reserves.

India

Lower-caste Dalits lead large protests

At least four people died in street battles and widespread protests by Indian low-caste Dalit community enraged by what they consider the undermining of a law protecting their safety, police said on Monday. Clashes with police, attacks on buses and government buildings, and blocked trains and roads were reported across five Indian states. Dalits are among the most marginalized groups in India, where caste discrimination is outlawed but remains widespread.

United States

Tesla crash data release criticized

The US National Transportation Safety Board said on Sunday it was "unhappy" that electric carmaker Tesla made public information about the crash of its Model X vehicle on Autopilot that killed the driver last month. The agency "needs the cooperation of Tesla to decode the data the vehicle recorded", NTSB said.

(China Daily 04/03/2018 page12)