In brief: Guerrilla leader dead, sources say
The Colombian Defense Ministry said Saturday that it has information from various intelligence sources that the legendary leader of Latin America’s largest guerrilla army is dead.
In a statement, the ministry said “we have learned through different military intelligence means” that the commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Manuel “Sureshot” Marulanda, died March 26.
“We know that inside the FARC, the version is that he died of natural causes, specifically from a heart attack,” the ministry said. Marulanda was believed to be about 80.
The news magazine Semana quoted Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos as saying he had information that Marulanda died in the guerrillas’ southern Colombian stronghold at the time of three bombing raids.
“Whether the death of Marulanda came in a bombardment or from natural causes, this would be the most serious blow this terrorist group has suffered,” the Defense Ministry statement said.
In the Semana interview, Santos said the government had been told of the rebel leader’s death from a “source who has never failed us.”
Marulanda, whose real name is Pedro Antonio Marin, led the peasant-based FARC since its founding in 1964.
Colombia’s government has announced his death at various times over the past 15 years, but each time proof that he was alive cropped up months later.
LONDON
‘Harry Potter’ actor stabbed to death
A British teenage actor playing a minor role in the upcoming “Harry Potter” film was stabbed to death during a brawl in London on Saturday, police said.
Rob Knox, 18, was stabbed after he got caught up in a fight outside a bar in southwest London early Saturday, London’s Metropolitan Police reported.
Knox plays Ravenclaw student Marcus Belby in the upcoming film “Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince,” the sixth installment of the popular series set for release in November.
Knox was one of five young men taken to various hospitals after the brawl, police said. Among them was a 21-year-old who has since been arrested on suspicion of murder.
BERLIN
Parents post baby for sale on eBay
Authorities in southern Germany said Saturday they have taken custody of a 7-month-old boy after his parents posted an ad on eBay offering to sell him for one euro, the equivalent of $1.57.
Peter Hieber, a spokesman for police in the Bavarian town of Krumbach, said the baby was placed in the care of youth services in the southwestern Allgaeu region, even though the child’s 23-year-old mother insisted the ad was only a joke.
Authorities have launched an investigation into possible child trafficking against the baby’s mother and 24-year-old father, neither of whom was identified.
“Offering my nearly new baby for sale, as it has gotten too loud. It is a male baby, nearly 28 inches (70 cm) long and can be used either in a baby carrier or a stroller,” police quoted the ad as reading.
No offers were made for the child in the two hours and 30 minutes the ad was posted Tuesday. EBay deleted the posting but assisted police in tracking down the parents.
Several people who saw the ad alerted police.