Border guard killed
A border guard was struck and killed on Saturday while trying to flag down two cars that were speeding toward the Mexican border near Yuma, Arizona, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said. "The agent was struck and killed while attempting to stop two vehicles believed to have illegally entered the country and were absconding back into Mexico," he said. "I have spoken to the Mexican ambassador [Arturo Sarukhan] who gives me both his condolences and deep assurance that their government will be resolute in tracking down the perpetrators, and bringing them to swift justice."
■ UNITED STATES
Veteran correspondent dies
Frances Lewine, a White House correspondent during the administrations of six US presidents, from Dwight Eisenhower to Jimmy Carter, died on Saturday of a probable stroke. She was 86. Lewine joined the Washington bureau of the Associated Press in 1956 to cover general assignments, including White House social events and other activities of the first family. Lewine became a leader among women journalists in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, protesting discrimination against women in jobs and assignments. The efforts of Lewine and others led to such groups as the National Press Club and the Gridiron Club opening their membership to women. She had planned to celebrate her 87th birthday yesterday at Charles Town Races in West Virginia, where friends had arranged to have a race named in her honor.
■ GUATEMALA
UN to support investigations
UN officials will support investigations into organized crime activities in Guatemala, a UN official said on Saturday. The officials will be working through the UN-supported International Committee against Impunity, UN official Lynn Pascoe said in an interview in the Guatemalan daily El Periodico. "This will be the first time that the United Nations participates in criminal investigations," said Pascoe, adding that several UN officials are "waiting to see if this works." The UN officials will only participate in investigations at the request of the government, Pascoe said.
■ MEXICO
Agents arrest officers
Federal agents arrested four police officers just south of the Texas border on Saturday and are investigating where the group got their guns, police said. Federal police and soldiers detained the officers in Nuevo Laredo across the border from Laredo, Texas, a spokesman for the Public Safety Department said. Local media reported the officers were carrying guns not registered to their unit in Tamaulipas state. "The army has stepped in to investigate the origin of their weapons," he said, declining to give his name. Officials say powerful weapons smuggled across the border from the US are fueling ongoing violence.
■ ARGENTINA
Police seize cocaine stash
Authorities seized more than a tonne of cocaine with a street value estimated at US$22 million in one of the biggest drug busts in years, the government and police said on Saturday. Police discovered the drugs in a warehouse in the outskirts of Buenos Aires and arrested at least 10 people, including several former police and army officers, the newspaper Clarin reported on its Web site. The bust came after a lengthy investigation into a company that allegedly imported and exported protective panels for grass, Security and Justice Minister Anibal Fernandez said.
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