World dateline briefs

Chile: Quake toll at 452

SANTIAGO — Chile is lowering the confirmed death toll from its February earthquake to 452 victims.

Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter says 96 people are still missing. The previous estimated death toll was 497.

The government on Friday announced school repairs and other reconstruction efforts that are the focus of an initial $112 million in aid.

Colombia: Primary defeat

BOGOTA — Former Foreign Minister Noemi Sanin has defeated Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's hand-picked successor for the Conservative Party's presidential nomination in a close primary.

Results after five days of counting show Sanin beat former Agriculture Minister Andres Felipe Arias by 1.11 million to 1.08 million votes in Sunday's election.

Dominican Republic: Held

SANTO DOMINGO — A fugitive who once acted as the lawyer for a group of U.S. Baptist missionaries accused of kidnapping 33 Haitian children was arrested on human-trafficking charges, authorities said Friday.

Jorge Puello, 32, was detained at the United States' request as he left a McDonald's restaurant late Thursday in the Dominican capital, Santo Domingo, said National Drug Control Agency spokesman Roberto Lebron.

Egypt: Yemen war over

CAIRO — Yemen's president on Friday declared the country's six-year war with northern rebels over, saying the Shiite militants are living up to a cease-fire agreement signed last month.

After years of sporadic fighting, Yemen has come under international pressure to quickly end the conflict — which spilled over into Saudi Arabia late last year — to free up resources to confront a separate threat from an al-Qaida offshoot in the country. In an interview with the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television, Ali Abdullah Saleh said rebels have given "positive signs" that they are committed to the cease-fire they struck with the government in February.

Ireland: Pope to apologize

DUBLIN — Pope Benedict XVI will address Ireland Saturday in a letter apologizing for the sex abuse scandal here — a message being watched closely by Catholics from Boston to Berlin to see if it also acknowledges decades of Vatican-approved cover-ups.

Some church scholars say Benedict has sought to encourage a church crackdown on abusers and are hopeful that today's message might offer a fresh start for the church worldwide.

Mexico: Shootout kills 2

MONTERREY— A shootout in the northern city of Monterrey killed two suspected drug cartel gunmen and wounded a soldier Friday. Suspected gang members also blocked roads in the city for the second day, in a bold attempt to impede security patrols.