World briefs

NIGERIA16 killed in crush for jobs

At least 16 people were killed in stampedes for government jobs when hundreds of thousands were invited to apply for fewer than 5,000 positions, officials and activists said yesterday. Interior Minister Abba Moro held the applicants responsible, saying they "lost their lives through their impatience." Activists blamed his ministry and called for him to be fired. Nigerians are desperate for work, with the number of unemployed at nearly 41 million of the 170 million population. Unemployment among people under-24 years old is even higher -- 38 percent, according to official statistics, but nearer 80 percent, according to the World Bank.

SERBIAVictory for center-right

Serbs gave a landslide victory in a parliamentary election yesterday to the ruling center-right party that has vowed to overhaul the struggling economy and push for membership in the European Union, according to an independent poll. The Belgrade-based CeSID polling group said the Serbian Progressive Party won about 160 seats in the 250-seat parliament. Its coalition partner in the current government, the Serbian Socialist Party, came in second, with about 50 seats. The rest went to the pro-Western Democratic Party and the New Democratic Party of former President Boris Tadic, the two groups that split up before the vote.

CHILE2 strong quakes off coast

Two earthquakes struck off the Pacific coast yesterday, and authorities called for a precautionary evacuation in case of a tsunami around the area where the Arica and Parinacota region adjoins the Tarapaca region. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Chile's geophysical agency put the initial quake's preliminary magnitude at 6.4; the U.S. Geological Survey reported it at 7.0. The USGS said a second quake about 10 minutes later and 15 miles away registered a preliminary magnitude of 5.1. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said later there did not appear to be a threat of a Pacific-wide tsunami.