News In Brief

China, India begin joint anti-terrorism drill
Afp, Beijing

China and India began a joint anti-terrorism drill yesterday, the first such exercise by the Asian powers -- which have a sometimes-fraught relationship -- for five years.
The joint training exercise comes even as the two remain embroiled in a border dispute that has been unresolved for decades and has occasionally led to military standoffs.

Boko Haram kill 40, torch 300 homes
Afp, Maiduguri

Islamist insurgents last week killed a total of 40 people and wounded a dozen others in two separate incidents in restive northeast Nigeria, a local official said Monday.
Bama and other remote parts of northeast Nigeria have seen a series of brutal attacks in recent weeks which have left hundreds dead, despite official assurances that the insurgents have been weakened by an ongoing military offensive.

Katy Perry the new queen of Twitter
Afp, San Francisco

Pop star Katy Perry has overtaken Justin Bieber as the most followed person on Twitter.
The latest figures Monday showed 46,534,966 followers for the singer best known for hit songs such as "Teenage Dream," California Gurls," and "I Kissed a Girl."

New York votes for new mayor
Afp, New York City

Millions of New Yorkers go to the polls yesterday to elect a new mayor, with left-wing progressive Bill de Blasio tipped for a landslide victory to replace billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
The 52-year-old public advocate and his black formerly lesbian wife promise a new style to a city transformed by 12 years of tough love under Bloomberg, who is not standing again.

72 stranded migrants rescued in Niger
Afp, Niamey

The Niger authorities on Monday rescued 72 women and children who were stranded in the scorching Sahara desert after their truck got a
flat tyre.
The people who found them were on their way to the burial site for some of the 92 migrants who died of thirst after a similar incident last month.