■ MEXICO
Leftist leader freed from jail
The man who led a five-month-long takeover of the southern city of Oaxaca by leftist protesters was freed from jail on Saturday, state officials said. Flavio Sosa led thousands of protesters who sealed off Oaxaca with barricades and battled police in late 2006 to demand the resignation of Oaxaca Governor Ulises Ruiz, who protesters claim rigged his electoral victory and repressed opponents. The statement did not say why the court released Sosa, but prosecutors had failed to convict him of any of the charges.
■ CANADA
World War I vet honored
Ottawa on Saturday paid tribute to its last surviving veteran of World War I, John Babcock, 107, who enlisted at age 15 but never fought on the frontlines. Babcock joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force and arrived in Britain a few months later, when he was transferred to the Boys Brigade. The war ended before he turned 18. Babcock was born in July 1900 and grew up on a farm near Kingston in Ontario. He currently lives in the US state of Washington.
■ CHILE
Palestinians on their way
A second batch of Palestinian refugees from a total of 735 stranded on the Iraq-Syria border since 2006 have flown to Chile under a resettlement plan sponsored by the Catholic church in Chile and the UN Agency for refugees. Chile has agreed to host a total of 117 of the refugees. The 37 who left yesterday included 17 children. A third and final group will leave at the end of this month.
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