EL SALVADOR
Former president dies
Former president Francisco Flores has died, officials in his political party announced late on Saturday, days after he slipped into a coma following a massive stroke. “We mourn the death of president Francisco Flores and express solidarity with his family at this time,” read a message issued from the Twitter account of his rightist National Republican Alliance party. The announcement of the death of Flores, 56, who led the Central American country from 1999 to 2004, comes as he faced a corruption trial on charges of stealing US$15 million donated by Taiwan for victims of a 2001 earthquake. Flores turned himself in to authorities in 2014 to face the allegations, which he steadfastly denied. The former president, who was under house arrest at the time of his death, was rushed to a hospital the previous weekend after suffering a stroke that paralyzed the right side of his body and slipped into a coma from which he never awakened.
BRAZIL
One killed in shooting
At least one person was killed and two were wounded on Saturday in a shooting in a tourist district of Rio de Janeiro during a pre-carnival celebration, the military police announced. The streets of the Brazilian city, which is to play host to the Olympic Games in August, have been filled in recent days with people celebrating in advance of its famous carnival, which officially begins on Friday. The shooting occurred as the musical group Ceu na Terra was parading before a crowd of about 8,000 people in the Santa Teresa district of central Rio. “Three people were wounded and one of them has died,” a military police spokesman said. The Brazilian government is expecting a million tourists for this year’s rendition of the world-famous carnival. However, with the Olympics only months away, Rio remains a dangerous city, with regular clashes between criminal gangs and the police and at least three murders every day, mainly in the poorer neighborhoods.
CANADA
Ex-mafia don gunned down
A former mafia don with a long history as a leading figure in Canada’s crime underworld has been gunned down at his home in Toronto, police said on Saturday. Authorities said Rocco Zito, 87 — for years a senior member of the notorious ’Ndrangheta, or Calabrian mafia — was found fatally shot at his home late on Friday. A suspect, Domenico Scopelliti, 51, identified in the Canadian media as the dead man’s son-in-law, has turned himself in, according to news reports, which said he faces a first-degree murder charge in the case.
SLOVENIA
Four killed in pile-up
At least four people died and 25 were injured on Saturday in a pile-up caused by thick fog in western Slovenia involving more than 50 vehicles, local police said. “Four people died and about 25 were injured, the clean-up operation continues, but we do not expect that figure to change,” police spokeswoman Anita Leskovec said. She said at least 55 vehicles, including a bus and four trucks, were involved in the accident. Due to bad visibility, “another three or four collisions” later took place at the same site, she added. Public Radio Slovenija earlier quoted unofficial sources as saying that five people had died in the pile-up which happened early in the afternoon near Senozece, about 60km southwest of Slovenian capital Ljubljana. Due to the accident the highway connecting the Adriatic coast with Ljubljana remained closed for several hours.
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