■ Colombia
Horse bomb kills two
A bomb strapped on a horse exploded outside a Colombian police station, killing two civilians and injuring nine, authorities said on Friday. It was unclear who was behind the bombing in the city of Cali. At least nine other people were killed in fresh clashes between Colombian soldiers and left-wing Revolutionary Armed Revolutionary Forces, authorities said. Rebel attacks have increased in recent weeks ahead of parliamentary elections in March and the presidential poll in May.
■ United States
Police seek blowtorch bandit
A robber who used a blowtorch to threaten a drug store worker and a gas station clerk was being sought for two failed heists, authorities said on Friday. The man went into the store and demanded cash. He pulled a self-igniting propane torch out of a bag, lit it and pointed the 60cm flame at a worker, authorities said. The clerk refused to give him money and yelled at the man, who fled. About 15 minutes later, however, he pulled the torch on a gas station cashier, San Diego County sheriff's deputies said. The cashier pulled a stick from behind the counter and began to hit the robber, who fought back with the blowtorch and then ran outside. The station worker was not injured.
■ United States
Laser pointer sentenced
A man who pleaded guilty to shining a laser beam at a passing airplane, temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot, was sentenced to two years of probation in federal court on Friday. David Banach, 39, of Parsippany, New Jersey, could have faced up to 20 years in jail but reached a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed not to pursue charges that he lied when questioned by federal agents. Banach's lawyer said her client was in his backyard with his 7-year-old daughter on Dec. 29, 2004, using a handheld laser pointer to illustrate the stars, when the green beam shined into the cockpit of a passing Cessna Citation plane. Two days later, one of the Cessna pilots was joining federal agents in a police helicopter to search for the site of the laser appearance when another laser crossed near the cockpit. Banach was arrested soon after.
■ United States
Fingertip faker nabbed
A man who had his fingertips surgically removed to avoid identification was sentenced to 10 years in jail on charges of drug trafficking, according to a media report. Jesus Jimenez-Mejia, 29, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Federal prosecutors said Jimenez-Mejia was deported to Mexico from Texas, in 1996 and illegally returned to the US after having his fingertips surgically altered to make fingerprint comparison impossible. Assistant US Attorney Bud Ellis said Jimenez-Mejia had his fingertips replaced with fingertips from another person. He said it was not known where the new fingertips came from.
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