LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Too many people - an unconscionable number of Syrians - are not able to get daily bread, in addition to other supplies.”
Nancy Lindborg, assistant administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development Article, 1A
S. Africans pursue escaped crocodiles
JOHANNESBURG - South African police say crocodile experts are needed to help capture thousands of the reptiles that are on the lam.
The crocodiles escaped a breeding farm along a river on the South Africa-Botswana border when the farm’s gates were opened earlier this week to alleviate pressure caused by rising flood waters.
Efforts are now being made to wrangle the reptiles and get them back to the Rakwena Crocodile Farm, from where the majority escaped. Hangwani Mulaudzi, a spokesman for the police in Limpopo province, said Friday that experts are needed right away to help sort out the crocodile crisis.
News reports from the scene show people hunting down smaller crocodiles at night, tying them up and taking them back to the Rakwena Crocodile Farm in northern South Africa. The crocodiles are easier to hunt at night, because their eyes glow when hit with a beam of light. The farm’s website shows crocodiles up to 16 feet long, though crocodiles of all sizes escaped, Mulaudzi said.
10 more fired in Chinese sex scandal
BEIJING - A scandal involving Chinese city officials having sex with women hired by developers - who secretly videotaped the trysts to extort construction deals - broadened Friday with state media announcing that 10 more officials have been fired.
The first high-profile case broke in November when online video clips went viral of a 50-something official, Lei Zhengfu, in the throes of passion.
Lei was fired as Communist Party chief of a district in the southwestern city of Chongqing. State media said Friday that 10 more district- and county-level officials in the city’s government, party departments and state-owned enterprises who appeared in additional videos have been fired.
Twitter idles al-Qaida-linked account
JOHANNESBURG - Twitter on Friday suspended the account used by Somalia’s al-Qaida-linked militant group after the insurgents used the microblogging site to post a hostage video and death threat.
The al-Shabab-run Twitter account @HSMPress was suspended two days after al-Shabab used the platform to announce a death threat against Kenyan hostages unless Kenya’s government meets its demands. Twitter’s terms of service says it does not allow specific threats of violence against others in its posts.
Terrorism analysts say that the militants’ use of Twitter has upsides and downsides. Analysts and governments can use militants’ Twitter postings to gather intelligence, but militants can use the accounts to spread propaganda or recruit fighters.
Al-Shabab uses Twitter mainly to make claims of enemy kills and to spread its view of events in Somalia and East Africa. Terrorism analysts believe the account is run by a Western-educated person; al-Shabab claims several dozen Americans and Britons among its ranks.
Al-Shabab joined Twitter in late 2011 after Kenyan forces moved into southern Somalia.
U.S. apologizes for hitting Filipino reef
MANILA, Philippines - The U.S. ambassador to the Philippines apologized Friday for the grounding of a U.S. naval ship on a reef in a marine sanctuary, the latest in a string of embarrassing incidents for the U.S. military in the country.
“I wish to convey to the Philippine government and people my profound regret over the grounding of the USS Guardian on Tubbataha Reef,” U.S. Ambassador Harry Thomas said in a statement issued Friday.
The area struck by the ship is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is described by the organization as “a pristine coral reef” that is home to more than 350 species of coral and almost 500 types of fish.
The grounding of the ship was preceded by other incidents that have led to renewed criticism of the U.S. military presence. On Jan. 6, fishermen in the Philippines recovered an unmanned U.S. military drone that had been lost after it was used during exercises near the Pacific island of Guam.
The Philippine Senate is also investigating allegations that a U.S. government contractor dumped 50,060 gallons of untreated domestic waste from a Navy ship near Subic Bay after joint exercises in October.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 01/26/2013