S. Korea firefighters gain against wildfire
SEOUL, South Korea -- Firefighters managed to extinguish most of a forest fire that ripped through South Korea's mountainous northern coast Friday, destroying 135 homes and forcing more than 4,000 to flee the region that hosted the 2018 Winter Olympics.
One person was killed by what government officials said was possibly the country's biggest forest fire ever. Another person was fatally struck by an object blown over by the high winds fanning the flames.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said fires in the county of Goseong and nearby coastal city of Sokcho were fully extinguished. Strong winds also carried the blaze to the towns of Gangneung and Inje, but the ministry said fires in those areas were 70 to 80 percent extinguished.
The fire likely started Thursday night from a transformer spark near a resort in Goseong and then spread to the mountains, according to Choi Jin-ho, a fire captain at Gangwon Fire Headquarters. Gangwon province governs the Olympic host city of Pyeongchang and is about 130 miles northeast of Seoul.
The ministry said 135 homes and more than 100 other buildings were burned. About 2 square miles of forest were estimated to have been destroyed.
Taliban siege kills at least 12 more troops
KABUL, Afghanistan -- The Taliban besieged an Afghan government and army compound in a remote western province for a second day Friday, killing at least 12 more troops, according to local officials who issued a warning, saying those inside the compound were running out of ammunition.
The latest fatalities brought the overall death toll for the assault in Badghis province to at least 32 Afghan soldiers and policemen. Many more have been wounded and the area is cut off, said Mohammad Nasir Nazari, a provincial council member.
Nazari said that according to soldiers inside the base in the district of Bala Murghab, roughly 2,000 Taliban fighters are involved in the attack, with about 600 Afghan troops and members of the security forces inside.
"They are running out of everything -- ammunition, water and food," said Nazari.
Abdul Waris Sherzad, a district chief, said local officials and residents were disappointed that NATO forces and the Afghan government have not helped.
But Defense Ministry spokesman Qais Mangal denied that. He said reinforcements and supplies had been airlifted to Badghis the previous day and that more was to be dispatched Friday.
Serbian ex-regime officials imprisoned
BELGRADE, Serbia -- A Serbian court on Friday sentenced four former state security members to up to 30 years in prison for the killing two decades ago of a prominent journalist, who was a critic of then-leader Slobodan Milosevic.
Slavko Curuvija, the owner and editor of two independent newspapers at the time, was gunned down outside his home on April 11, 1999, just days after the start of NATO's air campaign launched to stop Serbia's crackdown in Kosovo.
The trial over Curuvija's murder was seen as important in how Serbia deals with Milosevic-era crimes. Serbia is seeking European Union entry after Balkan wars in the 1990s.
The court sentenced the ex-head of state security Rade Markovic and another man to 30 years in prison and the two others to 20 years in jail each. Markovic is already serving a 40-year sentence for another Milosevic-era political attack.
The court did not specify who ordered the attack on Curuvija.
"The ruling sends a clear message that crimes against opponents cannot remain unpunished and that perpetrators of attacks on journalists for publicly spoken words are not untouchable," the Slavko Curuvija Foundation said in a statement.
Pakistan frees fishermen in nod to India
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's foreign ministry announced Friday that authorities will release 360 Indian prisoners detained on charges of fishing illegally in the country's territorial waters in the Arabian sea, a move aimed at easing tensions with New Delhi.
Mohammad Faisal, ministry spokesman, told reporters that Indian prisoners will be freed in four batches starting April 15.
Pakistani and Indian maritime agencies frequently arrest each other's fishermen on charges of illegal fishing. The detainees often languish in prison until such goodwill gestures are shown from either side.
Friday's announcement came hours before Pakistan's military accused India of "unprovoked" firing in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir that wounded six people, including four children.
On Monday, Pakistani and Indian soldiers also traded fire in Kashmir, leaving seven Pakistanis and three Indians dead. Both sides blamed each other for initiating gunfire in the region, which is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports
A Section on 04/06/2019