australia
New fire-alert system is put on fast track
YEA — Australia said today that it will fast-track a nationwide fire-alert system after thousands were caught off-guard by the country's deadliest wildfires, some of them blamed on arsonists. Police said they are questioning two people.
Police declined to say whether the two had been arrested or detained, and released a statement that said they were "assisting police with their inquiries." More than 180 people died Saturday in the fires, and the toll is expected to rise further.
Thousands of mostly volunteer firefighters were still battling more than a dozen fires across the state today, a day after some residents of towns scorched off the map were allowed to return home.
A huge police investigation is under way, including specialist arson investigators.
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MEXICO
2 US sailors charged in prostitute's killing
TIJUANA — Two U.S. sailors have been charged with the murder of a prostitute and the attempted murder of another in this northern border city, Mexican state prosecutors said.
Witnesses and a hotel camera place the two men at the same hotel where a 19-year-old prostitute was smothered to death on Jan. 17, the prosecutors said Tuesday.
The sailors were taken into custody and charged with attempted murder.
A U.S. Navy statement on Wednesday said that Jarrett Monzingo and Joshua Dockery, active-duty petty officers assigned to the San Diego area, face murder and attempted-murder charges in the death of a Mexican citizen and are being held at La Mesa Prison in Tijuana.
The statement did not elaborate on the alleged crime but said that the Navy has hired Mexican lawyers to represent the petty officers.
INDONESIA
Powerful quake spurs fears of tsunami
JAKARTA — A powerful earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia early today, briefly triggering fears of a tsunami. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the 7.0-magnitude quake struck about 195 miles from Manado, the northernmost city on Sulawesi island.
It was centered 21 miles beneath the ocean floor, the agency said.
Five aftershocks measuring more than magnitude 5 followed, the USGS said on its Web site.
NIGERIA
12 arrests made in 84 kids' deaths
ABUJA — Authorities have arrested 12 people in a tainted teething formula case in Nigeria that killed 84 children after they swallowed a syrup laced with a chemical normally found in antifreeze, health officials said Wednesday.
Dr. Paul B. Orhii, director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, said in a statement that authorities were seeking the maximum penalty of 15 years in jail.
Five of those arrested were operators of Barewa Pharmaceuticals Ltd., while the other seven worked for the supplier of the tainted chemical, officials said.
Barewa has been shut down, and officials said Wednesday that it would remain closed until investigations are concluded.
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