Nigerian police are facing criticism after the escape of the main suspect in the bombing of a church on Christmas Day. A spokesman for the governor of Borno state told the BBC he was
mystified
over how the suspect managed to escape while being escorted by the police. Mark Doyle reports from Nigeria.
The escape of a key suspect in the Christmas bombings is deeply embarrassing for the Nigerian police, who've been accused of incompetence.
But the whole affair is also worrying for the government on another deeper level. Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, is roughly split between a Christian south and a Muslim north. The suspected Islamic militant from the Boko Haram sect was arrested last weekend while he was staying in a government guesthouse in the capital Abuja. There have long been suspicions that Boko Haram have
infiltrated
parts of the establishment here and that some politicians from the Muslim north have secret contacts with the sect.
The Mexican army says it's rescued three children who were being held by a criminal gang. Officials said the children had been chained and locked up in a private home in the central city of Temixco. Inside the apartment, soldiers also found a
decapitated
body of a man whose head had been dumped nearby on Tuesday. Ten men and three women were arrested.
The Italian government says there's a serious risk that rough seas could cause the capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia to sink completely. The vessel is resting on an undersea ledge off the island of Giglio. Rescuers suspended their search of the ship after it shifted slightly. Italy's environment minister told parliament that salvage teams had only a few days to