WORLD BRIEFS

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Real estate gains for Karzai brother

The brother of Afghanistan's president said Wednesday he made at least $800,000 by buying then quickly reselling a high-end Dubai villa using a loan provided by the chairman of the troubled Kabul Bank. The comments by Mahmood Karzai point to a pattern of insider wheeling and dealing that has helped plunge Afghanistan's largest bank into crisis. There is no indication Karzai's property deal was illegal, but revelations about the transaction come amid a renewed focus on allegations of corruption in Hamid Karzai's administration and questions about Kabul Bank's ties to Afghanistan's political elite.

NIGERIA: Prison raid frees 750 inmates

A radical Muslim sect used assault rifles in a coordinated sunset raid on a prison in northern Nigeria, freeing 750 inmates, among them more than 100 followers. The attack Tuesday night by the Boko Haram sect left the prison in ruins. Now the group seeking to impose strict Islamic law on Nigeria may want to take on the government directly. The attackers went cell by cell at the prison in Bauchi, breaking open locks and setting fire to part of the prison before escaping with more than 750 inmates, said Bauchi state police commissioner Danlami Yar'Adua. A soldier, a police officer, two prison guards and a civilian died in the attack.

CHINA: Big greeting for Myanmar leader

President Hu Jintao welcomed the leader of Myanmar's ruling junta Wednesday with pageantry, underscoring China's strong support for its resource-rich neighbor where Beijing has made huge investments. Gen. Than Shwe had come on a five-day visit, seeking backing from his country's strongest ally for November elections that mark the first nationwide balloting in two decades. The junta has called the elections a key step in shifting to civilian rule after decades of military domination, but critics have derided them as a sham, saying the junta is unlikely to relinquish control.

MEXICO: 7 arrested in massacre of migrants

Mexican marines have arrested seven gunmen suspected of killing 72 Central and South American migrants in the worst drug cartel massacre to date, the government announced Wednesday. Four suspects were arrested after a Sept. 3 gun battle with marines, and the other three were captured days later, spokesman Alejandro Poire said at a news conference. The migrants are believed to have been kidnapped by the Zetas gang and killed after refusing to work for the cartel. In El Naranjo in northern San Luis Potosi state, meanwhile, prosecutors say hooded gunmen killed Mayor Alexander Lopez Garcia on Wednesday, the third mayor slain in a month, apparently by drug cartels.