Mali

French hostage executed

A Mauritanian website said al-Qaida's North African branch has executed a French hostage in Mali in retaliation for France's military intervention in the country. In Paris, a French Foreign Ministry official said the government is aware of the report and is investigating. The hostage's father said he has not received confirmation of the death.

Canada

Killing suspect collapses

A Canadian porn actor accused of dismembering his Chinese lover and mailing the body parts to political parties and schools collapsed in court during his preliminary hearing on Tuesday. Luka Magnotta has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the gruesome slaying of Jun Lin last May.

United States

Rare Chinese bowl sold for $3

A rare Chinese bowl bought at a garage sale for $3 has sold at a New York City auction for more than $2.22 million. The 1,000-year-old bowl was part of the opening session of Sotheby's fine Chinese ceramics and works of art auction on Tuesday.

Pakistan

Girl activist returns to school

Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistani girl who drew global attention after being shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls' education, returned to school on Tuesday in Britain where she has been treated for her injuries. Yousufzai, 15, has become an international figure as a symbol of resistance to Taliban efforts to deny women's rights.

Nigeria

At least 45 dead after boat sinks

At least 45 people died when a wooden boat carrying 166 people from southeastern Nigeria capsized off the coast, a doctor said on Tuesday. The boat left on Friday from the remote town of Oron, in Cross Rivers state, and was heading across the Gulf of Guinea to Central Africa, when it capsized 40 nautical miles offshore.

Turkey

Govt targeted in bomb attacks

Turkish government and ruling party offices came under bomb and missile attacks overnight in what a deputy prime minister said on Wednesday could be an attempt to wreck a peace process with Kurdish militants. Early on Wednesday, a small bomb exploded near state offices on the Asian side of Istanbul, damaging windows but resulting in no casualties.

Germany

Lufthansa to cancel flights

German airline Lufthansa said on Wednesday it will cancel nearly 500 European flights on Thursday owing to planned warning strikes by ground staff at the airports Frankfurt, Munich, Duesseldorf, Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne, and other divisions within the group.

AP-Reuters-AFP

(China Daily 03/21/2013 page11)