Suspected killer of border agent arrested
PHOENIX — A Mexican fugitive accused of pulling the trigger to kill a U.S. Border Patrol agent was captured more than six years after a slaying that exposed a bungled gun-tracking operation by the federal government.
Mexican authorities arrested Heraclio OsorioArellanes on Wednesday as the U.S. government has pushed hard to prosecute the suspected marijuana bandits involved in the 2010 death of 40-yearold Brian Terry.
His December 2010 killing uncovered the Fast and Furious operation, in which U.S. agents allowed criminals to buy guns with the intention of tracking them to criminal organizations. But the agents lost most of the guns, including two that were found at scene of Terry’s death. The operation set off a backlash for the Obama administration and led Terry’s family to sue.
Legalizing marijuana
OTTAWA — Fulfilling a campaign pledge, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced legislation on Thursday to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Canada.
Many nations have decriminalized marijuana, allowed it to be prescribed medically or effectively stopped enforcing laws against it. But when Mr. Trudeau’s bill passes as expected, Canada will become only the second nation, after Uruguay, to completely legalize marijuana.
“Criminal prohibition has failed to protect our kids and our communities,” said Bill Blair, a lawmaker and former Toronto police chief whom Mr. Trudeau appointed to manage the legislation.
Mr. Blair said the government hoped to begin allowing legal sales by the middle of 2018. Until the new laws pass, Canada’s approach remains strict.
Fire kills 22 in Senegal
DAKAR, Senegal — A fire that erupted during a religious festival in rural Senegal attended by thousands of people has killed at least 22 worshippers and injured more than 100, government officials said.
Several people were still missing Thursday, said Seydou Guèye, a government spokesman. The fire, which broke out Wednesday, also destroyed buildings and killed cattle, sheep and other animals. The cause has not been determined.
The annual event, an Islamic spiritual retreat known as the Daaka festival, takes place in the village of Médina Gounas. It is one of the biggest religious gatherings in Senegal, a majority Muslim country.
24 die in Mexico crash
MEXICO CITY — A fiery highway crash killed 24 people on Thursday when a fuel truck crashed into a passenger bus and exploded on a highway on the Mexican Pacific coast, authorities said.
Michoacan State Firemen’s Association commander Jorge Ostria said the driver of a truck carrying about 10,560 gallons of petroleum lurched into oncoming traffic around 6:30 a.m. and crashed into the bus.
The resulting explosion and fire burned the victims alive, he said. The driver of the truck was among the dead. Several passengers managed to escape and eight people, including two children, were hospitalized with injuries.
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An Iraqi who was detained after the bombing of a soccer team bus is suspected of having led an Islamic State unit before fleeing to Germany last year, the federal prosecutor said Thursday.