QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It has helped us a lot, it has solved lots of our problems.We appreciate it.”
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, on the yearly cash payments made to his nation by the CIA Article, 1A
Need Latin America ties, Obama says
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica - Wrapping up a three-day trip to Latin America, President Barack Obama on Saturday emphasized the “enormous importance” he says the U.S.
places on its trading relationships with countries in the region and said improving those ties will help them compete in a 21st-century world.
“If we do not have effective integration in our hemisphere, if we don’t have the best education systems, the best regulatory systems, if we don’t coordinate our activities, then we’re going to fall behind other regions in the world,” Obama said. “I’m confident that we can compete.”
“We now live in a very competitive 21st-century world,” Obama said at a forum on economic growth and development that was organized by INCAE, a prominent business school in Costa Rica, and the Inter-American Development Bank.
In addition to its economic aims, the trip - Obama’s first to the region since winning re-election - served as a nod to the vast Hispanic population back home, which heavily supported Obama in the 2012 election and which retains strong family and cultural ties to Latin America.
In his radio and Internet address released Saturday, Obama also made the case that deepening economic ties with the Americas will mean more jobs in the United States, where the economy continues its slow recovery from the worst downturn since the 1930s.
At the forum, Obama also discussed the benefits of early-childhood education and investments in renewable energy during a brief question-and-answer session with some of the business executives, students and other leaders in the audience.
Saudis tally 2,145 terrorism sentences
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The Saudi Justice Ministry said a special security court has issued 2,145 jail sentences for “supporting terrorism” since it was formed 4½ years ago.
The Specialized Criminal Court often tries suspects accused of affiliation with al-Qaida’s local branch, which operates both in the kingdom and in Yemen.
But critics say it also tries human-rights activists and other dissidents as well as cases related to unrest among Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority.
It was unclear if “supporting terrorism” referred to all cases tried by the court.
Spokesman Fahd bin Abdullah al-Bakran told reporters late Friday night that the Specialized Criminal Court has already ruled in 1,080 cases and is still looking into another 419 cases that involve 2,800 suspects.
Funeral sparks Nigeria violence; 39 die
YOLA, Nigeria- Police say at least 39 people have been killed in ethnic violence in a rural town in Nigeria.
The attack happened Friday in Wukari, a town in Nigeria’s Taraba state.
A state health official said Saturday that others were also injured in the violence that broke out during a funeral service that pitted the Jukun people against the Hausa Fulani. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn’t authorized to publicly release death tolls.
Officials later placed the town on a 24-hour curfew, forcing everyone indoors.
A similar round of violence in February in the town killed more than 20 people.
Nigeria, home to more than 160 million people, has more than 250 different ethnicities. Violence can start over politics, business, grazing rights, religion and other issues.
Iraqi voting favors premier’s coalition
BAGHDAD - A coalition led by Iraq’s prime minister has won the largest single bloc of seats in seven of 12 provinces participating in local elections, and tied in an eighth, although it failed to achieve a majority in any of the districts, electoral officials announced Saturday.
Last month’s vote was for seats on local-level governorate councils and has no direct effect on the country’s national posts. But the results do offer an important glimpse into levels of support for the country’s political blocs heading into next year’s parliamentary elections.
The results released Saturday by members of Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission at a Baghdad hotel showed little change to preliminary results released last week.
Thousands of candidates from 50 electoral blocs vied for 378 seats on the provincial councils. Election officials reported that 51 percent of the 13.8 million eligible voters cast ballots - the same turnout as during the last provincial elections in 2009.
Front Section, Pages 8 on 05/05/2013