PERU

Former president shoots himself

LIMA — Former Peruvian President Alan Garcia shot himself in the head and died Wednesday as officers waited to arrest him in a massive graft probe that has put the country’s most prominent politicians behind bars and provoked a reckoning over corruption.

Authorities broke through a door at Garcia’s mansion in a leafy, upscale neighborhood of the Peruvian capital after hearing gunfire. The 69-year-old former head of state was rushed to a hospital, where he died in surgery.

PORTUGAL

Bus crashes, kills 28 on Madeira Island

LISBON — A tour bus carrying German tourists crashed on Portugal’s Madeira Island on Wednesday, killing 28 people and injuring 28 others, local authorities said.

The bus carrying 55 people rolled down a steep hillside after veering off the road on a bend east of the capital, Funchal, and struck at least one house, local mayor Filipe Sousa told cable news channel SIC. The victims included 17 women and 11 men.

ARGENTINA

Country freezes prices of goods

BUENOS AIRES — Argentina’s government is freezing the prices of 60 essential products and some services in a bid to tame spiraling inflation.

President Mauricio Macri announced Wednesday that the goods affected include flour, oil, rice and personal hygiene items. He also said prices for services such as telephone plans will not be raised.