LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“When, it doesn’t say.Where, it doesn’t say either.”
Diosdado Cabello, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, on the prospect of moving the swearing-in of ailing President Hugo Chavez Article, this page
Man accused of helping gunman
MANILA, Philippines - A house caretaker who reloaded the pistol of a man who went on a shooting rampage near Manila that left nine people dead is facing multiple murder charges, officials said Saturday.
John Paul Lopez, who worked for the gunman, Ronald Bae, surrendered to authorities late Friday, hours after the rampage, which left eight victims and the gunman dead, said Cavite provincial deputy police chief Dionicio Borromeo.
Eleven people were wounded in the attack in Cavite province’s Kawit township, about 10 miles south of Manila.
Borromeo said Lopez, 27, explained that Bae, 41, had threatened to kill him if he did not reload bullets into the magazines of a .45-caliber pistol used in the killing rampage.
Borromeo, however, said Lopez never tried to stop Bae or talk him out of the rampage.
It was unclear what triggered the rampage, but Bae had a “marital problem” with his wife, whom he left in northern Pampanga province and returned to his old home in Kawit for the new year, Cavite provincial Gov. Jonvic Remulla said.
Al-Qaida finance chief reportedly slain
ALGIERS, Algeria - An Algerian newspaper said Saturday that the right-hand man to the head of al-Qaida’s North African branch was one of seven insurgents killed by the country’s army last week .
El Watan reported that the New Year’s Day operation killed Izza Rezki, the finance chief for Abdelmalek Droukdel, the head of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. The paper cited anonymous security sources.
Algerian authorities did not comment on the report.
The Algerian Defense Ministry announced the operation Tuesday but only identified those killed as members of a terrorist group.
Such government statements are rare in Algeria’s long battle with the al-Qaida branch, underscoring the importance of the operation. The branch is based in Algeria, but noted mainly for its reach in Africa’s Sahel region with kidnappings of Westerners and its takeover of parts of northern Mali.
Police: Iran developing Net controls
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran’s police chief said the Islamic Republic is developing new software to control social networking sites.
Gen. Esmail Ahmadi Moghadam was quoted in Iranian newspapers Saturday as saying the new software will prevent Iranians from being exposed to malicious content online while allowing users to enjoy the benefits of the Internet. He did not say when the software would be introduced.
Moghadam also did not specify which social networking sites would be affected, but both Facebook and Twitter are popular in Iran.
Iranians currently have access to most of the Internet, although authorities block some sites affiliated with the opposition, as well as those that are seen as promoting dissent or considered morally corrupt.
Iran created a government agency last year to oversee Internet usage in the country.
Man held in Spanish antiquity theft
MADRID - The owner of an antique shop in Spain was arrested after police investigators found a vase there dating back to the late second century B.C., officials said Saturday.
The antiquity had been illegally plundered from an Iberian-era archaeological site in the province of Alicante, an Interior Ministry statement said.
Inspectors found it in a cardboard box during a routine search of the shop in the eastern town of El Campello.
“We are not yet aware of the full importance of this discovery, but in 20 years’ time we will still be talking about this vase,” said Jose Luis Simon, an expert from the cultural heritage service of the Ministry of Culture.
Simon said the piece showed decorative paintwork from the Iberian era.
He said that while fragments of vases from this antiquity exist in Spain, this was the first to be found whole, making it “of exceptional value.”
The Interior Ministry said the inspectors who opened the cardboard box knew right away they were dealing with something out of the ordinary and requested technical backup.
He said it has been moved to the Alicante Archeological Museum for safekeeping.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 01/06/2013