WORLD BRIEFS

SOMALIA/Nine men plead not guilty to piracy

Nine Somali men accused of attacking two U.S. Navy ships off the coast of Africa pleaded not guilty Friday in Virginia, to piracy, plundering and weapons charges. U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Bradford Stillman ordered the nine held until their trials, tentatively scheduled for July. The government is expected to seek September trial dates. Of 11 Somali men indicted last week on U.S. charges, one entered a not guilty plea Wednesday and another is scheduled to be arraigned next week. None of the defendants speak English. All face mandatory life terms, if convicted.

NORTH KOREA/American allowed to call mother from prison

An American imprisoned in North Korea was allowed to speak to his mother by telephone, but Pyongyang's state media and his family provided few details and no clues whether he would be released. North Korea's highest court sentenced Aijalon Mahli Gomes to 8 years of hard labor and fined him $700,000 on April 6 for entering the country illegally and for an unspecified "hostile act." Gomes, from Boston, was the fourth American detained by North Korea for illegal entry in less than a year. He had been teaching English in South Korea before being arrested in the North on Jan. 25. Thaleia Schlesinger, a spokeswoman in Boston for Gomes' family, confirmed Friday that Gomes spoke with his mother.

CHINA/More security after third attack on students

Armed police will patrol schools in China's capital after a farmer attacked kindergartners with a hammer, then burned himself to death Friday in the third classroom assault in as many days. The government ordered schools to tighten security, and anxious parents of students targeted in an earlier attack marched Friday, demanding a better government response. In the latest assault, Wang Yonglai used a motorcycle to break down the gate of the Shangzhuang Primary School in Weifang and struck a teacher who tried to block him before hitting students with a hammer, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Wang then grabbed two children, poured gasoline over his body and set himself on fire. Teachers pulled the children to safety, but Wang died. None of injured students had life-threatening wounds, Xinhua said.