More officials nabbed over drug lord's escape

MEXICO CITY • The Mexican authorities have arrested 13 more people over the escape of drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, including the former head of federal prisons and the ex-director of his penitentiary.

Ms Celina Oseguera, the former national coordinator of the federal prison system, was among those detained over Guzman's July jailbreak, an attorney-general's office spokesman told AFP.

The authorities also arrested the former director of El Altiplano maximum-security prison, Ms Valentin Cardenas Lema, and the facility's legal director, Ms Leonor Garcia, the spokesman said. A total of 20 officials linked to the escape have now been arrested.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Boko Haram camps destroyed, says army

HUSSAIN MAIDUGURI (Nigeria) • Nigeria's military has claimed further gains in its counter-offensive against Boko Haram.

Army spokesman Sani Usman said on Saturday that troops had destroyed more rebel enclaves and camps in the restive state of Borno, which has been the worst hit by the six-year Islamist insurgency. But Boko Haram's shadowy leader Abubakar Shekau has dismissed the talk of success as "lies".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

California firefighters gain ground on blazes

LOS ANGELES • Firefighters have gained ground against two major wildfires that have destroyed more than 1,000 homes in northern California, officials said.

Fire officials say the two blazes, which have killed five people, highlight the severity of an intense wildfire season that in the coming weeks could become one of the state's fiercest on record.

The so-called Valley Fire, which is north of the wine-producing region of Napa Valley, has burnt 29,946ha, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

REUTERS

Tiger kills female zookeeper in NZ

WELLINGTON • A female zookeeper in New Zealand has been killed in an attack by a tiger, say the authorities.

Ms Samantha Lynda Kudeweh, 43, suffered fatal injuries in the attack yesterday morning at Hamilton Zoo on the country's North Island. She died at the scene, police said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE