News In Brief

Hated Nazi buried in Italy prison cemetery
Afp, Rome

Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke, whose death sparked a legal dispute over what to do with his body, has been secretly buried in an Italian prison cemetery, La Repubblica reported yesterday.
It is "the only bit of Italian land where Priebke's death can go back to being just a death, not Nazi symbolism," the Italian daily said, adding that the cross was unmarked except for a number.

Nigeria extends state of emergency
Afp, Abuja

Nigerian lawmakers yesterday approved a request by the country's president to prolong emergency rule in the restive northeast by a further six months to try to quell a bloody Islamist insurgency.
Emergency rule was declared in the three states in May as part of government efforts to curb attacks by Boko Haram fighters and saw thousands of additional troops flood into the area, supported by air power.

Amnesty slams Shell over Niger oil spill
Cnn Online

An Amnesty International report issued Wednesday blasts Shell Oil Co. for its handling of the hundreds of oil spills that occur each year in Nigeria and accuses the company of "serious deficiencies and abuses" that render "wholly unreliable" its claims about how much oil is spilled and how often.
The 80-page report, titled "Bad Information -- Oil Spills in the Niger Delta," cites corrosion, poor maintenance, equipment failure, sabotage and oil theft as causes of oil spills.

North Korea arrests South Korea spy
Afp, Seoul

North Korea said yesterday a South Korean spy has been arrested while trying to use "dishonest elements" for a mission to destablise its social system.
Security authorities recently captured an agent of South Korea's intelligence service in Pyongyang, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
It quoted a spokesman for the Ministry of State Security as saying the man had confessed to coming into Pyongyang illegally through a third country.