‘Boko Haram’ killings

DOUALA: Suspected Boko Haram militants sprayed a village in remote Cameroon with automatic fire, killing 15 people and kidnapping eight in an overnight raid near the Nigerian border, officials said on Friday.

The attackers burnt down about 30 houses in Gakara village, just outside the town of Kolofata, which has been a frequent target of suicide bombings by the group.

A government source said 15 people had been killed and 30 had suffered bullet wounds. – Reuters

Syrian kids’ suffering

UNITED NATIONS: Fran Equiza, Syrian representative of Unicef, on Friday drew attention to what he called “the staggering impact” of the war on children of Syria.

“Heavy fighting has displaced thousands of families,” said Equiza, adding he was “overwhelmed” by the “traumatising experiences” children had been through. “They have endured brutal violence and lost friends and family members.”

He was visiting camps where he met displaced children. – Xinhua

Nuclear fears mount

VIENNA: North Korea has stepped up efforts to produce parts for a nuclear reactor it is building while continuing to operate the main one that provides fuel for its atom bombs, the UN nuclear watchdog has said in an annual report on Friday.

North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests and dozens of missile tests since the start of last year, defying world powers and raising fears of a conflict breaking out on the Korean peninsula. – Reuters

8 missing in mudslides

ZURICH: A fresh mudslide swept into a remote mountain town in eastern Switzerland on Friday where an earlier huge landslip this week dumped rock, rubble and mud metres high and left eight people missing.

In the latest slide, a river of mud poured through Bondo near the Swiss-italian border.

Rescuers continued their search for eight hikers from Switzerland, Austria and Germany reported missing since the initial landslide on Wednesday. – Reuters

‘Godman’ trial riots

PANCHKULA: Violent protests erupted in India’s Haryana state on Friday, killing at least 29 people, after a court convicted a self-styled “godman” of raping two women, angering thousands of supporters who said he was innocent, the state chief minister said.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of a social welfare and spiritual group, was found guilty of raping two followers in a case dating to 2002 at the headquarters of his Dera Sacha Sauda group in Sirsa. – Reuters

Vatican security plan

VATICAN CITY: It is perhaps “only a matter of time” before Rome is hit by a Barcelona-style attack but security forces are ready in case the Vatican is targeted, the head of the Swiss Guard says.

Security has been stepped up at religious sites throughout Italy since last year, when a truck driven by a suspected Islamist militant killed 86 people in Nice, France. Despite terror threats from the Islamic State, Rome and other cities have been spared vehicle attacks. – Reuters

Macron’s make-up bill

PARIS: Social media commentators and political opponents of Emmanuel Macron have torn into the French president after it emerged he spent €26 000 (R404 000) on make-up in his first 100 days in office.

Confirming the cost on Friday, Macron’s staff were at pains to point out the bill was smaller than that of his predecessors. – Reuters