South korean soldier kills five at border
SEOUL, south korea — A South Korean soldier killed five comrades Saturday night and wounded another five at the border with North Korea, a South Korean military official said.
The army sergeant opened fire with a rifle at an outpost in Gangwon province, east of Seoul, an official at South Korea’s Defense Ministry said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules.
Local media reported that the soldier was at large with his weapon. The military official declined to confirm whether the soldier was still at large.
Man who inspired “In the Name of the Father” dies•DUBLIN — Gerry Conlon, who was imprisoned unjustly for an Irish Republican Army bombing and inspired the Oscar-nominated film “In the Name of the Father,” died Saturday at age 60 after a long battle with cancer.
His family said in a statement that he died at his Belfast home. They paid tribute to a man they said had “brought life, love, intelligence, wit and strength to our family through its darkest hours.”
Sierra Leone defends record on Ebola•FREETOWN, sierra leone — Sierra Leone on Saturday defended its response to the Ebola outbreak ravaging West Africa, saying it was dismayed by allegations that affected governments are not doing enough.
The disease, which causes bleeding, high fevers and organ failure, has been linked to more than 330 deaths in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization.
Syrian warplanes hit town seized by militants •BEIRUT — The Syrian army has carried out a series of airstrikes against a town in eastern Syria that was captured by fighters from an al-Qaeda breakaway group a day earlier, killing 16 people, activists said Saturday.
Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant stormed Muhassan along the Euphrates River on Friday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes pounded parts of Muhassan with six airstrikes, adding that the casualties included three civilians.
Pope denounces Mafia •CASSANO ALL’JONIO, italy — Pope Francis journeyed Saturday to the heart of Italy’s biggest crime syndicate, met the father of a 3-year-old boy slain in the region’s drug war, and declared that all mobsters are automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
During his one-day pilgrimage to the southern region of Calabria, Francis comforted the imprisoned father of Nicola Campolongo in the courtyard of a prison in the town of Castrovillari.
In January the boy was shot, along with one of his grandfathers and the grandfather’s girlfriend, in an attack blamed on drug turf wars in the nearby town of Cassano all’Jonio.
Belarus human rights activist freed•MINSK, belarus — A prominent Belarusian human rights activist was released from prison Saturday in a move seen as a gesture from the authoritarian leader of Belarus to improve relations with the West.
Ales Bialiatski, the 51-year-old leader of the Vyasna rights group, was released nearly three years into his prison sentence, 20 months ahead of schedule. Bialiatski was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012. Denver Post wire services
