NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Iraq violence: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a surprise visit Saturday to Iraq, pledging to continue Canada’s support for the battle against the Islamic State group as bombings across the country killed at least 30 people. The Canadian government has announced $139 million in additional aid to address the refugee crisis caused by the fighting, in addition to the $67 million already committed to Iraq. Canada is part of the U.S.-led international coalition supporting the Iraqi military with air strikes and training. The killings came as the U.N. mission in Iraq reported that 812 Iraqis, including 277 members of security forces and allied militias, were killed in April.
2 Fire anniversary: Demonstrators placed flowers and lit candles Saturday in front of a building in the Ukrainian city of Odessa where 48 people died one year ago when it caught fire in a clash between supporters and opponents of Ukraine’s government. The May 2, 2014, violence began with fights between two factions marching in the city and reached a grisly culmination at the trade union building, where supporters of autonomy for Ukraine’s heavily Russian east took shelter from government backers. The government supporters threw firebombs at the building. However, official accounts say those who took shelter in the building could have set it on fire by throwing firebombs from the roof at their opponents.
3 Kerry visit: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday championed the new Sri Lankan government’s push for democratic reform and promised closer ties with the strategically located Indian Ocean nation. Sri Lanka’s government is determined to end years of international isolation linked to its long war with Tamil separatists. The last American secretary of State to come to Sri Lanka was Colin Powell, in early 2005 after the Indian Ocean tsunami.
4 Korea tensions: North Korea said Saturday it has arrested a South Korean student who has permanent U.S. residency for illegally entering the country from China last month. Won Moon Joo, who North Korea says lives in New Jersey, was detained April 22 after crossing the Amnok River, the official Korean Central News Agency said. The 21-year-old man is being questioned by state authorities. A spokesman for New York University, John Beckman, confirmed that Joo was a student at NYU’s Stern School of Business, but was not taking classes this semester and the university was unaware of his travels.
5 Migrants rescued: Ships from Italy and France rescued more than 1,400 migrants on Saturday after smugglers’ boats ran into trouble in the Mediterranean Sea near Libya. Italian officials said 1,200 migrants were being taken to Italian ports after several different rescue operations by its coast guard and navy, including helping some 200 people aboard motorized rubber dinghies a day earlier south of Sicily. The smugglers’ boats had set out in a spell of warm, calm weather. In a French operation, another 217 migrants in rubber dinghies were rescued by a Marine patrol boat and two suspected smugglers were detained in the seas north of Libya.