NEWS IN BRIEF
FOUR KILLED IN CAR BOMBING NEAR SOMALIA PARLIAMENT
AFP, Mogadishu
At least four people were killed and 10 wounded when a car bomb exploded close to a checkpoint near Somalias parliament in the capital Mogadishu yesterday, police said. A plume of thick black smoke was seen over the city and witnesses said a number of vehicles were on fire. Islamist group Al-Shabaab claimed the attack, after a spike in activity in recent days by the Al-Qaeda linked group which has seen it inflict mass casualties in Somalia and attack a US military base in Kenya.
MAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO MURDER OF 19 AT JAPAN CARE HOME
AFP, Yokohama
The man accused of murdering 19 disabled people at a Japanese care home in one of the countrys worst mass killings pleaded not guilty yesterday as his trial began. Satoshi Uematsu, a former employee of the care centre outside Tokyo, did not dispute his involvement in the 2016 stabbing rampage during his first court appearance on charges including murder.
NAJIB SOUGHT ABU DHABI ROYALS HELP OVER
scandal
AFP, Kuala Lumpur
Malaysias disgraced ex-leader Najib Razak allegedly sought help from Abu Dhabis crown prince to conceal wrongdoing linked to a multi-billion-dollar graft scandal, recordings released yesterday by investigators showed. Huge sums were looted from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB and used to buy items ranging from a super-yacht to artwork, in a fraud allegedly involving Najib and his inner circle.
