World/Nation Briefs December 27, 2011

Crash kills doctor en route to donor

MIAMI - A surgeon and technician from a Mayo Clinic in Florida flying across the northern corner of the state to retrieve a heart for transplant died Monday in a helicopter crash that also killed the pilot, officials said.

The helicopter departed the clinic in Jacksonville around 5:45 a.m. but never arrived at the Gainesville hospital, Shands at University of Florida, about 60 miles to the southwest, said Kathy Barbour, a spokeswoman for Mayo, which is based in Rochester, Minn.

Killed were heart surgeon Dr. Luis Bonilla, procurement technician David Hines and the pilot, whose name wasn't released.

The heart they were going to pick up could not be used in another transplant because its viability expired, and the patient who had been scheduled to receive it is waiting for a new organ, Mayo Clinic spokesman Layne Smith said.

The helicopter went down about 12 miles northeast of Palatka, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. The town is about 40 miles east of Gainesville and about 45 miles south of Jacksonville.

Nigerians fear more attacks on Christians

MADALLA, Nigeria - Women returned to clean the blood from St. Theresa Catholic Church on Monday and one man wept uncontrollably amid its debris as a Nigerian Christian association demanded protection for its churches.

At least 35 people died at St. Theresa and dozens more were wounded as radical Muslim militants launched coordinated attacks across Africa's most populous nation within hours of one another. Four more people were killed in other violence blamed on the group known as Boko Haram.

Crowds gathered among the burned-out cars in the church's dirt parking lot Monday, angry over the attack and fearful that the group will target more of their places of worship.

It was the second year in a row that the extremists seeking to install Islamic Shariah law across the country of 160 million staged such attacks. Last year, a series of bombings on Christmas Eve killed 32 people in Nigeria.

North Korean leader meets with delegation

PYONGYANG, North Korea - North Korea's next leader burnished his diplomatic skills, solemnly welcoming a private South Korean mourning delegation and offering his thanks, as state media called Kim Jong Un a "sagacious" leader and revealed a new title that gives him authority over political matters.

Kim has rapidly gained prominence since the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, on Dec. 17, and his brief meeting with a group led by a former South Korean first lady and a prominent business leader shows Seoul that he is assured in his new role.

State media have showered Kim with new titles. On Monday, the main Rodong Sinmun newspaper described him as head of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party - a post that appears to make him the top official in the ruling party. That came two days after the North referred to him as "supreme leader" of the 1.2 million-strong armed forces and said the military's top leaders had pledged their loyalty to him.

Late Monday, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency also called Kim a "sagacious leader" and "dear" comrade while reporting that he again paid respects to his father, whose body is lying in state at Kumsusan Memorial Palace. State media have already dubbed him as a "great successor" and an "outstanding leader."

KCNA also indicated that Kim will uphold his father's trademark "military-first" policy.

Missing girl found dead, babysitter to face charges

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - A missing 9-year-old Indiana girl has been found dead, and the family friend who was watching her before she disappeared was charged Monday night with murder, authorities said.

Allen County sheriff's spokesman Cpl. Jeremy Tinkel said investigators found the body of Aliahna Lemmon in the county, but he wouldn't say where. He also said 39-year-old Mike Plumadore was "interviewed by police and taken into custody at 9 p.m. and charged with murder."

Plumadore, who had been watching Aliahna and her sisters before she was reported missing late Friday, is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

Earlier Monday, FBI agents descended on the rundown mobile home park in Fort Wayne where Aliahna lived.

- The Associated Press