Syrian blasts U.S. for $302M ruling
DAMASCUS, Syria -- A U.S. court verdict that blamed the Syrian government for the killing of an American journalist was based on "fortune telling" rather than an investigation in accordance with the law, a senior Syrian legislator said Friday.
Syria's deputy Parliament Speaker Najdat Anzour reiterated previous statements by government officials that Marie Colvin had entered the country illegally.
U.S. President Donald Trump "wants to build a wall with Mexico to prevent people from entering illegally to America," Anzour said. "At the same time there are some who want to get compensation for a person who entered a country illegally."
A Washington judge this week hit the Syrian government with a $302 million judgment over the 2012 death of Colvin, a longtime foreign correspondent for The Sunday Times.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson concluded the Syrian military had deliberately targeted the makeshift media center in the city of Homs where Colvin and other journalists were working.
"We don't know who killed her," Anzour said.
Lawyers for Colvin's family argued that her death was no accident. They hope to recover the $302 million verdict by targeting frozen Syrian government assets overseas. The Syrian government never responded to the suit.
S. African bridge collapses, kills 3
JOHANNESBURG -- At least three students are dead and 23 injured after a walkway collapsed at a school outside Johannesburg, South African officials said Friday.
Panyaza Lesufi, the head of education for Gauteng province, posted the toll on Twitter shortly after the collapse of the footbridge at the Hoerskool Driehoek high school in Vanderbijlpark. Two boys and a girl were killed, he said.
"It is painful to see those tiny bodies in that state," Lesufi said. He reported "scores" trapped, but an Associated Press witness later said no one remained in the rubble.
"When we arrived we found that there are still children underneath," said Kay Makhubela, spokesman for Gauteng police. He said about nine people were seriously injured.
The students at the school are between 13 and 18 years old, local broadcaster eNCA reported.
It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse.
The national Department of Education extended condolences to the families of the students killed. Young boys from a neighboring school came by to lay flowers.
"My heart goes out for the school because a lot of my friends were [there]," said one of the boys, Herco Lintvelt. "I hope they can build the school up again. And I hope everyone who is here must be fine."
A statement by AfriForum, a civil society group that represents the rights of Afrikaners, sent out a notice urging people to avoid the area.
Afghan insurgents attack checkpoint
KABUL, Afghanistan -- An Afghan official says the Taliban have attacked an army checkpoint in one of the country's northern provinces, killing at least six soldiers.
Zabihullah Amani, the provincial governor's spokesman, said seven soldiers were also wounded in the attack on Thursday night in Sozma Qala district in Sari Pul province.
Amani said nine Taliban fighters were killed and 13 were wounded in a gunbattle that followed the attack. He added that reinforcements were dispatched to the area and that it is now under control of Afghan forces.
The Taliban didn't immediately say they were behind the attack but the insurgents have been carrying out near-daily attacks on Afghan forces.
The violence comes despite stepped-up efforts by the United States to find a negotiated end to the country's 17-year war.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports
A Section on 02/02/2019