In the news
Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey, arrived in London for a three-day tour of the United Kingdom, where he will work to strengthen his state’s foreign economic ties, meet with Prime Minister David Cameron and take in a Premier League soccer match.
Mohammed Dahlan, the exiled former leader of Gaza’s Fatah party and key political rival to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, attained Serbian citizenship after pledging millions of dollars in investments to the small Balkan country.
Pope Francis has announced plans for his first visit to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in hopes that the June trip will boost efforts toward reconciliation in a country ravaged by multiethnic war two decades ago.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former Iranian president, has set up a new website, featuring a picture of the smiling politician and the slogan “We will come soon,” ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections, hinting at a return to Iran’s legislative scene.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire and member of the Saudi royal family, has financed a new pan-Arab news network, Alarab, based in the tiny island nation of Bahrain.
Renea Lucero, 30, was arrested in a drug sting set up after she mistakenly called a police detective in Albuquerque, N.M., and offered to sell him heroin, authorities said.
Eddie Perez, 19, was booked into a Central California jail on suspicion of kidnapping, torture, false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon and rape, accused of holding his 16-year-old girlfriend in a car and assaulting her with a tire iron over the course of several days.
Scott Walker, Wisconsin’s Republican governor, said on ABC’s This Week that he is open to the idea of sending U.S. troops to the Middle East to combat Islamic State fighters, saying the U.S. hasn’t been aggressive enough in confronting the extremists’ threats.
Maria Echaveste, a former presidential assistant during Bill Clinton’s administration and President Barack Obama’s choice to be U.S. ambassador to Mexico, has withdrawn her name from consideration, citing the drawn-out confirmation process.
Devi Ostler, 32, delivered a healthy, 9.9-pound baby boy with help from a police chief and a state trooper after the woman’s labor forced her to stop on the side of Interstate 15 while she was driving to a hospital in Brigham City, Utah.