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WORLD NEWS Saturday 11 May 2019

2 French commandos killed freeing hostages in West Africa

Associated Press izens and the South Korean
PARIS (AP) — Two French citizen at a military airport
special forces officers were outside Paris on Saturday
killed Friday in a military op- evening, his office said. The
eration in the West African American, whom Parly said
nation of Burkina Faso that was a woman, was expect-
freed four people from the ed to be repatriated sepa-
United States, France and rately.
South Korea who were kid- The two French tourists
napped in neighboring Be- failed to return from a visit
nin, French officials. last week to the Pendjari
Four “terrorists” also were National Park wildlife re-
killed during the pre-dawn serve in Benin. Their guide
operation in northern Burki- was later found dead.
na Faso that was carried It was not immediately
out to free the two French known when and where
tourists, French Defense the American and South
Minister Florence Parly said. Korean were kidnapped.
It was “an operation of rare In a statement Friday, Ma-
difficulty” that grew more cron expressed condolenc-
complex with the discovery es over the deaths of the
of the American and South two Marine commandos
Korean hostages being This photo provided Friday May 10, 2019 by the French army shows navy soldiers Cédric de participating in France’s
held with the French citi- Pierrepont, left, and Alain Bertoncello. Barkhane Operation, which
zens, Parly said. Associated Press has been working to root
Despite careful planning a South Korean, she said at were probably not aware hostages were in a “safe out terrorists roaming the
and American and Burkina a news conference. of the presence of their two place.” Sahel region.
support, “no one had any Contacts with the United nationals on Burkina Faso French President Emman- A military ceremony for the
knowledge” of the pres- States and South Korea territory,” she added. uel Macron plans to wel- commandos is planned for
ence of an American and “show that these countries Parly said the four freed come home the French cit- next week.q

Voters to pick successor of Lithuania’s popular ‘Iron Lady’

By LIUDAS DAPKUS icy and defense are two hundreds of thousands of
Associated Press of the presidency’s main Lithuanians living abroad.
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — purviews. The leading can- A presidential runoff would
Nine candidates are vying didates include Prime Min- be held May 26, the same
in an election Sunday to ister Saulius Skvernelis, 48; day Lithuanians vote for
become Lithuania’s next former banking economist their EU parliament repre-
president, including a well- Gitanas Nauseda, 54; and sentatives and another ref-
known economist, a former former Finance Minister In- erendum on reducing the
finance minister and the in- grida Simonyte, 44. number of lawmakers in the
cumbent prime minister. In recent public opinion 141-seat Seimas assembly.
Term limits require the Baltic polls, Simonyte has been Skvernelis, who was a po-
country’s current head of in front with support from lice officer before he en-
state, President Dalia Gry- more than 26% of likely tered politics, has suggest-
bauskaite, to step down voters, but Nauseda and ed opening a dialogue with
after two five-year terms. Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite speaks to the members Skvernelis aren’t far behind. Russia, a departure from
The election to choose the of press at a polling station during the advance presidential Along with picking their the recent governments
popular Grybauskaite’s elections in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, May 7, 2019. president, voters on Sunday in Vilnius, and floated the
successor could go to a Associated Press face a referendum on a idea of moving the Lithua-
second-round vote. on domestic issues such tion and social welfare, constitutional amendment nian Embassy in Israel from
The campaign has focused as the economy, corrup- even though foreign pol- to allow dual citizenship for Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.q