News In Brief

New leader of IRA party renews pledge of violence

The new leader of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) guerrillas, Sunday pledged continued support for violence to end British rule in Northern Ireland and reunite the country.

Gerry Adams, who won a Belfast seat in the British Parliament in the last elections, was elected president at Sinn Fein's annual congress Saturday. His election was seen as confirming a steady shift of Sinn Fein's power base from the Irish Republic to the North, where more than 2,300 people have been killed in 14 years of sectarian and political violence.