World Briefs

PORTUGAL Polls on Portugal’s general election put the ruling Portugal à Frente coalition (PAF) ahead with 38 per cent of the vote, compared to 32 per cent for the opposition Socialist Party. PAF policies imply a lower risk of fiscal slippage and thus a victory for them is likely to be viewed positively by markets, even if, as is expected, they lose their absolute majority in the 230-seat parliament.

US-CHINA A Chinese-American researcher has pleaded guilty to stealing trade secrets from his U.S. employers, but his attorneys are hoping to limit the time he serves in prison. Xiwen Huang pleaded guilty to one count of stealing trade secrets. Federal prosecutors say the 55-year-old chemical engineer stole proprietary technology and hundreds of pages of documents over the past decade as an employee for both government and civilian companies. According to court documents, his goal was to help the Chinese government and a company he had opened in North Carolina to do business with China.

SENEGAL A suspected Islamic extremist in southeastern Niger detonated his explosives when confronted by a policeman yesterday, killing the officer and wounding civilians in a town targeted numerous times by jihadists this year. There was no immediate claim of responsibility though suspicion immediately fell upon Boko Haram, the Nigeria-based extremist group that has pledged allegiance to IS.

BAHAMAS Hurricane Joaquin destroys houses, uproots trees and unleashes heavy flooding as it hurled torrents of rain across the Bahamas, and the U.S. Coast Guard says it is trying to reach a disabled cargo ship with 33 people aboard that lost contact during the storm.

FRANCE Violent storms and flooding have hit south-eastern France, killing at least 16 people with three more missing, officials say. Three elderly people drowned when their retirement home near the city of Antibes was inundated with floodwater. Others died trapped in their cars in tunnels and underground car parks as the waters rose. President Hollande announced a state of “natural disaster” in the affected region.

AFRICA A vehicle carrying a rhino sculpture led anti-poaching marchers in Johannesburg yesterday. Kenya’s environment minister joined conservationists at a similar rally in Nairobi, the capital. In London, activists in elephant costumes demanded an end to the ivory trade. The demonstrations were part of what organizers called a “global march” for rhinos and elephants