Briefs package

A sex offender accused of killing two women more than 15 years ago and raping children pleaded guilty on Monday to hundreds of charges, crying when some of his surviving victims addressed him. “I’m not a monster. I feel a lot of remorse,” Elias Acevedo said. Acevedo sobbed into a tissue as three rape victims clutched each other and addressed him in front of the judge: “You robbed me of my childhood,” one victim said. “You hurt so many people.” Acevedo, 49, agreed to plead guilty to 297 counts, including murdering the women and kidnapping and raping children. He accepted a life prison term under the plea deal.

MEXICO

Five bodies found outside capital

The bodies of five men were found Monday on a street just north of Mexico City. An official of the Mexico State public safety department said the bodies were found dumped together in a small town near the capital. The cause of death is unclear, but several of the bodies appeared to have gunshot wounds.

CHINA

Chinese refuse to meet Japan’s PM

China’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that Chinese leaders, angered over a visit last week by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan to a contentious war shrine in Tokyo, would not meet with Abe. A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, said at a regularly scheduled news conference in Beijing that Abe’s visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, which houses the remains of some convicted war criminals from the World War II era, was tantamount to honoring “fascists” and “the Nazis of Asia.” The Yasukuni Shrine, an institution of the Shinto religion, honors ordinary soldiers who died fighting in World War II, but it has long generated enmity among the Chinese because it also has the remains of some who are designated Class A war criminals.

NORTH DAKOTA

Train carrying crude oil derails

A train carrying crude oil from North Dakota’s oil patch derailed Monday near the small town of Casselton, setting off a series of fiery explosions. No injuries were initially reported, but officials were warning residents to stay indoors as the situation unfolded. BNSF Railway spokeswoman Amy McBeth said a train carrying grain was first to derail, and it knocked several cars of the mile-long oil train off adjoining tracks. Several explosions were reported, she said.

EL SALVADOR

Volcano ash falls on capital city

Ash from El Salvador’s Chaparrastique volcano fell on several parts of El Salvador, with some reaching the capital, San Salvador. Compared to the giant plume of ash and vapor that the peak spewed three miles into the air on Sunday, the Environment Ministry said camera images Monday showed “moderate” emissions from the volcano. A fine dusting of ash accumulated on vehicles and windows in the capital Monday. The 7,025-foot volcano is about 90 miles east of San Salvador.

LEBANON

Lebanon fires at Syrian helicopters

The Lebanese armed forces fired on Syrian aircraft that entered the country’s airspace Monday, the first such action since threatening last summer to attack any troops, vehicles or warplanes that violated Lebanese territory from Syria. Security officials said that Syrian helicopters fired four missiles at a mountainous area near the border town of Arsal, where many Syrian refugees and rebel fighters cross into Lebanon, and that the Lebanese army responded with antiaircraft guns. No injuries were reported, and the Syrian state media did not immediately comment on the episode.

EGYPT

Egypt arrests Al-Jazeera journalists

The Egyptian government broadened its campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood with the arrest of the entire Al-Jazeera news team in Cairo. The arrests are the latest in a violent campaign by the government against the Brotherhood, the secretive organization through which ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi ascended to the presidency. Two of the four arrested hold foreign passports: Al-Jazeera English bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy, who is Canadian, and correspondent Peter Greste, who is an Australian. In the last week, three students have died and more than 300 have been involved in clashes on campuses with security forces.