LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Turkey and Qatar, who have influence over the rebels, spoke with the rebels.They also spoke with Iran. Iran for its part spoke with Syria.” Umit Sonmez of the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief, after Syrian rebels freed 48 Iranians in exchange for more than 2,000 prisoners Article, this page9 from U.S. press N. Korea on changes

PYONGYANG, North Korea - A private delegation that includes Google’s Eric Schmidt is urging North Korea to allow more open Internet access and cell phones to benefit its citizens, the mission’s leader said Wednesday in the country with some of the world’s tightest controls on information.

Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said his nine-member also group called on North Korea to put a moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests that have prompted U.N. sanctions, and the delegation asked for fair and humane treatment for an American citizen detained in the country.

The visit has been criticized for appearing to hijack U.S. diplomacy and boost Pyongyang’s profile after North Korea’s latest, widely condemned rocket launch. Richardson has said the delegation is on a private, humanitarian trip.

Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, is the highest-profile American business executive to visit North Korea since leader Kim Jong Un took power a year ago.

Vietnam hands 14 activists long terms

HANOI, Vietnam - A Vietnamese court found 14 democracy activists guilty of subversion and sentenced them Wednesday to jail terms ranging from three to 13 years, verdicts which drew immediate criticism from the United States.

The long prison terms suggest that the communist government is intent on stepping up its ongoing crackdown on people who publicly challenge its authoritarian, oneparty rule. In recent years, the Internet has emerged as a tool for dissidents, alarming many in the ruling elite at a time of economic uncertainty.

The defendants are linked to Viet Tan, a Vietnamese dissident group based in the United States. Vietnam’s government has labeled it a terrorist group, but the U.S. government has said it has seen no evidence that it advocates violence.

In Washington, the State Department said it was “deeply troubled” by Wednesday’s verdicts and was raising these and other cases with the Vietnamese government.

Iraq shuts border at Jordan crossing

BAGHDAD - Iraqi authorities citing security concerns closed the country’s only border crossing with Jordan on Wednesday, cutting a key route through a part of the country where anti-government protests have been raging for weeks.

Residents of Anbar province, the center of the Sunniled demonstrations, rejected the closure and accused the government of trying to pressure them to end their protests against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Shiite-dominated administration.

Many Sunnis in Iraq complain of discrimination by the Shiite-led government. The mass protests in Anbar - and increasingly elsewhere in the country - are the largest and most sustained demonstration of Sunni discontent since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

The prime minister’s spokesman, Ali al-Moussawi, did not specify the nature of the security fears that he said prompted the move. He denied that the closure was intended to pressure protesters, saying officials were responding to intelligence information.

S. Africa farm strike turns violent

JOHANNESBURG - South African police fired rubber bullets at striking farmworkers who set up barricades and threw stones at motorists and security forces Wednesday in a province that grows grapes vital to the wine industry.

At least 50 demonstrators were arrested, authorities said.

Labor unrest was reported in several areas of Western Cape province, where similar protests last year also turned violent, causing at least two deaths.

Chaotic scenes unfolded in the town of Grabouw, where protesters, some carrying clubs, raced through the streets during clashes with riot police. One man taunted police by pointing a stick at them in the manner of someone lining up a rifle’s sights. An injured female demonstrator grimaced as blood flowed down the side of her face.

The protesters had sought to block roads in a campaign for higher wages and to prevent other farmhands from going to work.

Front Section, Pages 5 on 01/10/2013