England: Stunt pilot dies
LONDON — A leading U.S. stunt pilot was killed Saturday when her light aircraft crashed at an aerobatic show in central England.
Vicki Cruse, 40, from Santa Paula, Calif., died in an accident during the World Aerobatic Championships at Britain's Silverstone motor racing circuit. Cruse, who was president of the International Aerobatics Club, is a former member of the U.S. national aerobatics team and was the first woman to qualify to race in her class at the Reno National Championship Air Races.
Germany: Bribery probe
BERLIN — German prosecutors are investigating about 100 professors across the country on suspicion they took bribes to help students get their doctoral degrees, authorities said Saturday.
The investigation is focused on the Institute for Scientific Consulting, based in Bergisch Gladbach, just east of Cologne, which allegedly acted as the intermediary between students and the professors, said Cologne prosecutor's spokesman Guenther Feld.
Feld confirmed reports of the investigation in both Focus magazine and the Neue Westfaelische newspaper. According to the two publications, students paid between euro4,000 to euro20,000 ($5,700 to $28,500) to the company, which promised to help them get their doctorate degrees through its extensive contacts within university faculties.
Honduras: Zelaya opinion
TEGUCIGALPA — Honduras' Supreme Court says ousted President Manuel Zelaya would face trial if he returns to the Central American country.
The Honduran top court is giving its opinion on a plan to solve Honduras' political crisis after Zelaya was ousted in a coup.
Zelaya's return to Honduras under a national unity government is a key provision in a plan by mediator and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias.
Italy: $211.8M winner
ROME — A lucky lotto player in Tuscany won Italy's record euro147.8 million ($211.8 million) state lottery Saturday, pocketing what has been billed as Europe's biggest jackpot.
The winning ticket was purchased in the Sisal Biffi coffee shop in Bagnone, a town of about 2,000 in the province of Massa Carrara near the Tuscan coast, lottery officials said. In Italy, lotto winners rarely come forward.
Mexico: Gunmen kill 2
CIUDAD JUAREZ — Gunmen killed an army officer and another man in a bowling alley in Ciudad Juarez, a border city that has seen Mexico's highest levels of drug-related violence in recent years, police said Saturday.
The assailants entered the Bol Bol bowling alley and shot to death army Capt. Alejandro Aranda and his unidentified companion late Friday, said police spokesman Enrique Torres.
Nigeria: 1,000 surrender
YENAGOA — A top militant leader and 1,000 fighters surrendered to the Nigerian government Saturday, turning in their weapons in the biggest handover since an amnesty began two weeks ago, but other fighters said attacks in the oil-rich Delta region will resume next month regardless.
The unrest has cut Nigeria's production by a million barrels a day, allowing Angola to overtake it as the continent's top oil producer. Officials hope the amnesty will allow them to increase production but commanders in two of the Delta's three main states have not surrendered and government control of the thousands of waterways remains tenuous.
Pakistan: Taliban leader
ISLAMABAD — Faced with the prospect of rifts among its ranks after a U.S. drone strike apparently killed leader Baitullah Mahsud, the Pakistani Taliban announced Saturday that it had chosen one of his deputies to succeed him.
A 28-year-old commander named Hakimullah Mahsud will lead Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a militant organization based in the tribal areas along the Afghan border and blamed for many of the suicide bombings and other attacks that have plagued Pakistan.