COLORADO AIRMAN ONE OF 7 KILLED
An airman from Colorado Springs — 29-year-old Capt. Mark K. Weber — was among the seven airmen who were killed Thursday when an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter crashed in western Iraq, the Defense Department announced Saturday.
Weber was assigned to the 38th Rescue Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Ga.
The other airmen were identified as Capt. Andreas B. O’keeffe, 37, of Center Moriches, N.Y.; Capt. Christopher T. Zanetis, 37, of Long Island, N.Y.; Master Sgt. Christopher J. Raguso, 39, of Commack, N.Y.; Staff Sgt. Dashan J. Briggs, 30, of Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.; Master Sgt. William R. Posch, 36, of Indialantic, Fla., and Staff Sgt. Carl P. Enis, 31, of Tallahassee, Fla.
Tens of thousands of seniors march in Spain. MADRID» Tens of thousands of elderly Spaniards rallied across the country Saturday to demand an increase in public pension payouts.
Unions and retiree groups called for protests in over 100 cities and towns across Spain to demand that pension payouts rise in line with inflation. Many pensioners complain that the government’s 0.25 percent increase in 2017 is insufficient.
Vatican gives in, releases letter.
VATICAN
Stung by accusations of spreading “fake news,” the Vatican on Saturday released the complete letter by Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI about Pope Francis after coming under blistering criticism for selectively citing it in a press release and digitally manipulating a photograph of it.
The previously hidden part of the letter provides the full explanation why Benedict refused to write a commentary on a new Vatican-published compilation of books about Francis’ theological and philosophical background that was released to mark his fifth anniversary as pope.
In addition to saying he didn’t have time, Benedict noted that one of the authors involved in the project had launched “virulent,” “anti-papist” attacks against his teaching and that of St. John Paul II.
He said he was “surprised” the Vatican had chosen the theologian to be included in the 11-volume “The Theology of Pope Francis.”
“I’m certain you can understand why I’m declining,” Benedict wrote.
One dead, three missing in avalanche.
Swiss authorities say they’ve recovered the body of one skier and are still searching for three others after they were hit by an avalanche in the Alps.
Police from the Valais canton, or state, said Saturday that a group of skiers were hit by the avalanche Friday in the Vallon d’arbi area of southwestern Switzerland.
Boat sinks, 16 migrants die. smuggling boat sank Saturday off a Greek island, killing at least 16 migrants including children, and a search-and-rescue operation was underway to find two others believed missing.
The wooden boat was believed to have been carrying around 21 people when it sank for reasons that were not immediately clear off the coast of the eastern Aegean island of Agathonisi, the Greek coast guard said. Three people — two women and one man — managed to
Leader of Mauritius resigns.
The president of the Indian Ocean nation of Mauritius, Africa’s only female head of state, has resigned amid a financial scandal.
Ameenah Gurib-fakim Gurib-fakim submitted her resignation in the “national interest,” her lawyer Yousouf Mohamed told reporters Saturday, according to local news reports.
He said her resignation is effective on March 23.