World briefs

GREECE

2 migrant children die

Greek authorities say two young migrants, a 3-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, died in separate incidents late Friday. The boy died at sea when the inflatable boat carrying 15 migrants and an operator smashed on rocks off the coast of the island of Khíos, the Greek coast guard says. The boat engine exploded and all passengers jumped into the sea. The other 14 passengers and the 18-year-old operator made it safely to the beach, but the boy was unconscious when coast guard officers arrived, and his death was confirmed in the hospital. Two other passengers were hospitalized, but their injuries were not life threatening. The girl was part of a family of six who had crossed from Turkey through the Evros river, in northeastern Greece, and were following train tracks to the city of Alexandroupolis. The girl apparently slipped away from her parents and was struck by a passing train, police say. Also, the Coast Guard says that a body of a man about 30 years old, in an advanced state of decomposition, was found at sea off the island of Lesbos Friday.

SURINAME

President's foster son held

A foster son of President Desi Bouterse has been arrested for his alleged ties to a gang involved in a botched armed robbery that resulted in two people being killed and five wounded, police said. One of the cars used by the robbers was registered to Romano Meriba, 31, who turned himself over to authorities Friday, police said. He had denied in a radio interview earlier in the week that he had any involvement in the robbery. The robbers, armed with assault rifles and hand grenades, engaged in a shootout with police that left two dead and five wounded, including three with serious injuries. Two policemen suffered minor injuries, according to reports. Meriba was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2005 after being convicted of killing a merchant, but he was released in December 2011.

GERMANY

Cops: Mom killed babies

German police say a 45-year-old woman has admitted killing several of the eight babies whose bodies were found at an apartment in the northeast Bavarian town of Wallenfells. Upper Franconia police said in a statement yesterday that the unnamed woman confessed after her arrest in a nearby village late Friday. A judge yesterday ordered the woman detained on suspicion of seven counts of murder. A 55-year-old man who was with her was released without charge. Police said investigators were still trying to determine how the babies died and the identity of their father -- or fathers.