World Digest

KOREAN PENINSULA

Leader of North Sends Word to South's Lee

A high-level delegation from North Korea delivered a message from leader Kim Jong Il to South Korea's president, an official said.

Presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said the delegation had conveyed Kim's message on progress on inter-Korean cooperation when they met the South's leader, Lee Myung-bak, on Sunday. The spokesman did not provide details of Kim's message.

The North dispatched the delegation to pay respects after the death of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.

PAKISTAN

Taliban Announces Choice of New Leader

Hakimullah Mehsud -- a 28-year-old Pakistani Taliban commander behind several serious attacks, including a deadly attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team -- has been appointed the new head of the militant group, the aide to another commander said Saturday.

Bakht Zada, a close aide to commander Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, said a Taliban council had appointed a new head because Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud was ill. The government said it was investigating the report.

Officials in Washington and Islamabad, Pakistan, say Baitullah Mehsud was almost certainly killed Aug. 5 by a CIA missile strike; Taliban commanders deny that, although they have provided no proof he is alive. On Wednesday, Mohammad said he had become acting head of the Taliban until the council could appoint a new leader.

Also Saturday, security officials said the Pakistani Taliban had detained four relatives of Baitullah Mehsud on suspicion of tipping off authorities about his whereabouts, the Reuters news service reported.

-- Associated Press

COLOMBIA

Guerrilla Arrested Over 2003 Killings

Colombian police have captured a guerrilla suspected of killing a U.S. military contractor and a Colombian soldier after their surveillance plane crashed in the jungle in 2003, authorities said Saturday.

Judicial police director Luís Ramírez alleged that José Armando Cadena Cabrera, who went by the nom de guerre Bronco, was personally responsible for the two killings and was part of a band of rebels that kidnapped three other Americans on the plane.

"The entire crew survived the plane crash, and Bronco killed the U.S. citizen, Thomas John Janis, and the soldier, Luís Alcides Cruz, who refused to be kidnapped," Ramirez said.

The other three Northrop Grumman contractors on the plane -- Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell -- wrote in a book this year that a guerrilla named Sonia told them she killed Cruz and Janis.

-- Associated Press

5 Killed in Attack in Somalia: Islamist insurgents attacked a government checkpoint in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, sparking a gun battle that killed at least five people on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Insurgents seeking to overthrow Somalia's Western-backed government have threatened to step up attacks during the month-long period of prayer, reflection and fasting.

Rebels Surrender Weapons in Niger Delta: Hundreds of Nigerian insurgents surrendered their weapons, mortar shells and gunboats as part of a federal amnesty program designed to stem unrest in the oil-producing Niger Delta. The handover by dozens of militant groups was the largest since the 60-day amnesty began two weeks ago.

Venezuelans March Over Education Law: Thousands of Venezuelans joined rival marches in Caracas over a controversial education law that critics say strengthens President Hugo Chávez's grip over schools and universities.

Wildfires Burn Across Greece: Dozens of wildfires across Greece torched olive groves, cut off villages and displaced residents. One of the largest blazes swept perilously close to the northern suburbs of Athens. Fanned by high winds, as many as 65 fires have stretched resources. Firefighters were trying to extinguish at least half a dozen major conflagrations.

-- From News Services