SUDAN
Four peacekeepers killed
A peacekeeper serving with the joint U.N.-African Union force in Darfur opened fire on fellow peacekeepers, killing four and injuring one, the United Nations said Friday. Kieran Dwyer, spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force, said the peacekeeping mission in Darfur, known as UNAMID, is investigating the shooting. He said there were no further details of the so-called “blue-on-blue” incident that took place Thursday at a peacekeeping site in Mukjar in West Darfur. It was unclear whether the peacekeeper who opened fire was alive, dead or injured.
SOUTH SUDAN
U.N. chopper shot down
The United Nations said South Sudan’s armed forces shot down a U.N. helicopter on Friday killing all four Russian crew members on board, an attack South Sudan’s military spokesman blamed on rebel fighters. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stood by the U.N.’s account in a statement, strongly condemning the shooting down “of a clearly marked U.N. helicopter by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army” and calling on South Sudan’s government to conduct an immediate investigation and prosecute those responsible.
ITALY
Prime minister resigns
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti resigned Friday evening following Parliament’s confidence vote on the 2013 budget, but he is still expected to play a major role in early elections, quite possibly as a candidate, analysts said. At a news conference scheduled for Sunday, Monti is expected to present a political agenda — pro-Europe, pro-reform, pro-fiscal rigor — and call on all parties to endorse it, aides said Friday.
ENGLAND
Thatcher recuperating
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is recuperating at a hospital after an operation to remove a bladder growth, an advisor said Friday. Thatcher, 87, went to see her doctor after experiencing some discomfort and subsequently had the growth removed. Thatcher has been in fragile health since she suffered a series of small strokes more than a decade ago.
Compiled from wire reports.
