PHOENIX
agent's family sues over death in fast, furious
The family of a slain Border Patrol agent has sued federal officials over the botched "Fast and Furious" gun operation, claiming they should have known it created a risk to law enforcement authorities. Agent Brian Terry was mortally wounded on Dec. 14, 2010, in a firefight north of the Arizona-Mexico border between U.S. agents and five men who had sneaked into the country to rob marijuana smugglers. The case was filed Thursday, one day short of the two-year anniversary of Terry's death and a deadline for filing a wrongful death claim in federal court. Federal authorities who conducted Fast and Furious have faced tough criticism for allowing suspected straw gun buyers for a smuggling ring to walk away from gun shops in Arizona with weapons, rather than arrest them and seize the guns. ATF spokesman Tom Mangan declined to comment on the lawsuit.
CHINA
Party chief acts to bolster military
Xi Jinping, the new Communist Party chief and civilian commander of the Chinese military, is moving quickly to make strengthening the country's armed forces a centerpiece of what he calls the "Chinese dream" of national rejuvenation. This week, the state news media gave prominent coverage to Xi's visit with troops of the Guangzhou military region, where he spoke about bolstering China's military forces and improving combat training. Xi's comments and the gearing up of the party's propaganda machinery behind them are likely to raise concerns among other Asian nations and the United States, the main military power in the Pacific.
iNDIA
Rival nations ease cross-border travel
India and Pakistan on Friday announced a new visa regime that will make cross-border travel easier as part of a thaw in their long-hostile ties. Speaking in New Delhi. Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said tensions between the nuclear-powered rivals have eased a great deal since the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, in which 10 Pakistani terrorists killed 166 people.
DENVER
4 doused with liquid, set afire
Police searched Friday for two men who used a pump sprayer to douse four people with a flammable liquid at a Denver apartment and set them on fire. One woman was seriously injured in the attack Thursday night that rattled the Sunnyside neighborhood. "Who would do something like this?" Maria Gomez, a neighbor who did not know the victims, told the Denver Post.
LAKEWOOD, Calif.
Jenni Rivera fans gather at her home
Dozens of fans of Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera made their way to the performer's Lakewood home on Friday morning to pay their respects, hours after her remains arrived in Southern California. Rivera, 43, and six others were killed when the jet they were flying in crashed Sunday morning near Iturbide, Mexico.
Elsewhere
Russia: Former senior police officer Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov was found guilty Friday for his role in the slaying of crusading Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006 and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Mexico: Seven men were sentenced to long prison terms for their roles in a casino fire that killed 52 people last year, a government official said Friday.
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