QUOTE OF THE DAY “We will do what is necessary to prevent
Iran from obtaining the world’s worst weapons.” President Barack Obama,
at a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Article, 1AVenezuela cuts off U.S. contact lines
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela’s government has halted lines of communication established by a top U.S. diplomat to protest what it says has been U.S. interference in the country’s internal affairs ahead of an election set next month to replace the late President Hugo Chavez.
Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said in a news conference Wednesday that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson had violated Venezuela’s sovereignty despite reaching out to the South American country’s government before Chavez’s March 5 death.
He accused Jacobson of supporting opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, although he didn’t provide any evidence.
“We want normal relations with the United States based on mutual respect,” Jaua said.
He emphasized, however, that diplomatic and consular relations would remain between the two countries.
The U.S. Embassy in Caracas had not responded to a request for comment by Wednesday afternoon.
Al-Qaida kills Frenchman, website says
DAKAR, Senegal - A French hostage was executed by al-Qaida’s North African branch in retaliation for France’s military intervention in northern Mali, according to an announcement on a Mauritanian-based website that is frequently used by the Islamic extremist group.
The information could not immediately be verified, but in Paris, a French Foreign Ministry official said that the government is aware of the report and is investigating. Family members, including the father of the hostage, said they had not received confirmation of the death.
The Nouakchott Information Agency announced the death of Philippe Verdon in an article published late Tuesday, quoting a purported spokesman for al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.
The spokesman, identified by the name “Ghairawani,” said the group killed Verdon on March 10 in revenge for France’s 2-month-old offensive in northern Mali, which has succeeded in pushing the al-Qaida fighters out of the three main cities in the north. Ghairawani also said the other French hostages being held in the Sahel by the terror group and their allies could face the same fate.
19 copper miners rescued in Poland
WARSAW, Poland - Nineteen miners trapped nearly half a mile below ground by a cave-in at a copper mine in southern Poland were freed early Wednesday after a seven-hour search.
The men were trapped by fallen rock at the Rudna copper mine in Polkowice after a magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck the area.
A team of 25 rescuers worked through the night to dig their way to the trapped miners, who were all together and in a well-ventilated area when the cave-in occurred, according to Polish media reports.
“They knew they would return to their families,” he said.
One man suffered minor head injuries, but all the others are in good shape and were able to return home.
IMF director’s apartment is searched
PARIS - French police conducted a search Wednesday of the Paris apartment of Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, in an investigation into her handling of a financial scandal when she was the French finance minister.
The investigation concerns Lagarde’s decision in 2007 to refer to an arbitration panel a dispute between Bernard Tapie, a French billionaire and supporter of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, and the state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais. The panel ultimately brokered a settlement that awarded Tapie about $580 million, including interest.
A panel of investigating magistrates is looking into whether Lagarde was complicit in embezzling public money in what critics say was an overly generous award to a presidential friend.
Lagarde has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has expressed her willingness to cooperate with any investigation.
Gerry Rice, the director of the External Department of the IMF in Washington, declined to comment on the case Wednesday, but he said the fund’s board had discussed the possibility of French legal proceedings against Lagarde before its decision to appoint her as managing director in 2011. The board at the time “expressed its confidence that Madame Lagarde would be able to effectively carry out her duties,” Rice said in a statement.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 03/21/2013