LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Gaza, with its martyrs, cannot be described in words.There are no words to describe Gaza, to describe the heroes, the martyrs, the blood, the mothers who lost their sons.”
Khaled Mashaal, the long-exiled leader of the militant group Hamas, on entering Gaza for the first time Article, this page
Ghana voters run into hitches, delays
ACCRA, Ghana - Voters in Ghana selected their next president Friday in a ballot expected to mark the sixth transparent election in this West African nation, known as a beacon of democracy in a tumultuous region.
Proud of their democratic heritage, residents of this balmy, seaside capital trudged to the polls more than four hours before the sun was up, standing inches apart in lines that in some places stretched 1,000 deep.
By afternoon, some voters were getting agitated after hitches with the use of a new biometric system caused delays at numerous polling stations.
Late Friday, when it became clear that large numbers of people had not been able to vote, the election commission announced it would extend voting another day.
This nation of 25 million is, however, deeply attached to its tradition of democracy, and voters were urging each other to remain calm while they waited their turn to choose from one of eight presidential contenders, including President John Dramani Mahama and his main challenger, Nana Akufo-Addo.
500 dead, 400 missing after typhoon
NEW BATAAN, Philippines - Rescuers were digging through mud and debris Friday to retrieve more bodies strewn across a farming valley in the southern Philippines by a powerful typhoon. The death toll from the storm has surpassed 500, with more than 400 people missing.
More than 310,000 people have lost their homes since Typhoon Bopha struck Tuesday and are crowded inside evacuation centers or staying with their relatives, relying on food and emergency supplies being rushed in by governmental agencies and aid groups.
“I want to know how this tragedy happened and how to prevent a repeat,” President Benigno Aquino III said during a visit to New Bataan, the town at the ground zero of the disaster, where ferocious winds and rains lashed the area.
Officials have confirmed 252 dead in Compostela Valley, including New Bataan, and 216 in nearby Davao Oriental province. Nearly 40 others died elsewhere, and more than 400 are still missing, about two-thirds of them in New Bataan.
N. Korean blastoff seen snow-snagged
SEOUL, South Korea - New satellite images indicate that snow possibly slowed North Korea’s rocket launch preparations but that Pyongyang could still be ready for liftoff starting Monday.
South Korean media reports this week quoted unnamed officials in Seoul as saying North Korea had mounted all three stages of the Unha rocket on the launchpad by Wednesday. But snow may have prevented Pyongyang from finishing its work by then, according to GeoEye satellite images from Tuesday that were scrutinized by analysts for the websites 38 North and North Korea Tech.
The analysis and images provide an unusually detailed public look at North Korea’s cloaked preparations for a launch that the United Nations, Washington, Seoul and others say is a cover for a test of technology for a missile that could be used to target the United States.
7.3 quake jars northeastern Japan
TOKYO - A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off northeastern Japan on Thursday, the most powerful since last year’s record 9-magnitude temblor, swaying buildings in Tokyo for several minutes and temporarily disrupting rail and airline traffic.
The quake hit at 5:18 p.m., with an epicenter about 150 miles off the coast of Miyagi prefecture at a depth of about 6 miles, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Tsunami warnings were lifted two hours after the quake, the agency said.
While buildings in Tokyo shook, the quake did little damage, according to the national police agency. Last year’s record 9-magnitude temblor was 355 times more powerful than Thursday’s, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors were unaffected, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant’s operator.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Thursday he will do everything needed to deal with the effects of the earthquake.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 12/08/2012