Swiss reject deporting of foreign criminals

GENEVA • Swiss voters have rejected a proposal to deport foreign criminals for even minor offences, referendum results have shown.

According to the results on Sunday evening, the proposal to "automatically deport foreign criminals" was rejected by 58.9 per cent of voters. Under Swiss law, voters can change a law by popular ballot, but it must be approved by a majority of cantons as well as a majority of electors.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

'Ghost workers' cut from Nigeria payroll

LAGOS • Nigeria's Finance Ministry said that it had saved millions for the government by removing more than 20,000 "ghost workers" from the state payroll.

The eliminated workers represented "non-existent" staff who had been receiving monthly wages, highlighting the brazen corruption in the country. "The salary bill for February 2016 has reduced by 2.293 billion naira (S$16 million)," ministry adviser Festus Akanbi said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Radioactive material stolen; Mexico on alert

MEXICO CITY • Five Mexican states have been put on alert after a truck carrying a container of radioactive material was stolen, the Interior Ministry said.

The National Coordination of Civil Protection issued the warning on Sunday after a company in the state of Queretaro reported that a truck carrying radioactive iridium-192 was stolen.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Nanny arrested for decapitating child

MOSCOW • Moscow police have arrested a nanny for beheading a young girl in her care, with witnesses saying the woman was carrying a severed head and threatening to "blow everyone up".

The woman, who was reportedly shouting "Allahu Akbar", was spotted pacing up and down outside a metro station in the Russian capital.

Investigators said she was detained after the body of a child aged three or four years with "signs of violent death" was found yesterday in an apartment in north-west Moscow.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE