QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If they are not hanged, it will be a shame for everyone.”
Badri Nath Singh, the father of a woman who died after a gang rape on a New Delhi bus in December, speaking about four men who were convicted in her attack Article, this page
9 killed, 10 held in Egyptian Sinai raid
EL-ARISH, Egypt - Egyptian army troops backed by helicopter gunships attacked suspected hideouts of Islamic militants in the Sinai Peninsula on Tuesday, killing nine and arresting 10, a military official said. The latest raids raised the death toll from four days of operations to 29.
Officials have described the military offensive that started Saturday as the biggest sweep of the region in recent years, aiming to weed out al-Qaida-inspired groups that have taken hold in villages in northern Sinai.
A military official said militant infrastructure including weapons caches, missile launchers and nearly 100 vehicles were targeted in the operation. The official said troops, often with the help of air cover, also have targeted shacks and homes used by militants as hideouts, and areas where they cached fuel for vehicles.
The official said explosives material, weapons and ammunition were found Monday in the villages of el-Mahdiya and Naga Shabana, south of the town of Rafah near the border with the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
The official said that in addition to the militants killed, some 30 were arrested during raids - mostly low-level operatives but part of the network nonetheless. One officer and two soldiers also have been killed in the operation since Saturday, according to the official.
6 to plead guilty in masterpiece thefts
BUCHAREST, Romania - Six Romanians charged with stealing paintings by Monet, Matisse and Picasso from a Dutch museum will plead guilty in hope of getting a reduced sentence, their lawyers said Tuesday.
Lawyer Maria Vasii said they will enter the guilty pleas at the next hearing Oct. 22, hoping their sentences will be reduced by one-third. They could face a maximum 20 years for the theft.
The paintings have not been recovered. Forensic experts have examined ash from the stove of Olga Dogaru, the mother of the chief suspect, Radu Dogaru. According to authorities, she initially said she burned the paintings to protect her son, but later denied having done so.
Insurer Lloyds of London was listed outside the court Tuesday as a civil party in the trial. Vasii said the Triton Foundation, which owned the seven paintings, has been paid about $23.8 million.
Chinese patrol spurs Japanese warning
TOKYO - Japan will not rule out stationing government officials on islands at the center of a territorial spat with China, the top Cabinet secretary warned Tuesday, as a fleet of Chinese patrol ships entered disputed waters amid tensions in the year-old maritime standoff.
The fight over the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, has strained relations between the two countries even as they continue to depend on each other for trade.
On Tuesday, seven Chinese patrol ships entered waters around the islands, the latest of many such incursions into the area, according to the Japanese Coast Guard.
A day earlier, the Japanese spotted an unmanned drone aircraft in the islands’ vicinity and scrambled fighter jets. Japan has not confirmed what nation controlled the drone, but has approached China over the incident, the government said.
Japan’s chief Cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said Tokyo stood prepared to make “a calm but resolute response to defend our territory.”
Asked whether Tokyo might station officials on the islands to defend Japanese territory, Suga said the move was “one option” under consideration.
Blinded Chinese boy gets free surgery
BEIJING - A 6-year-old Chinese boy whose eyes were gouged out received implants Tuesday at a hospital in southern China owned by a Hong Kong doctor who offered the operation for free after learning about the brutal attack.
The implants are a precursor to fitting the boy with prosthetic eyes that will look and move more like normal eyes but do not restore vision. Doctors at the C-MER (Shenzhen) Dennis Lam Eye Hospital also plan to fit Guo Bin with navigation sensors that would allow the boy to get around on his own in familiar places.
Inggie Ho, an assistant to Dr. Dennis Lam Shun-Chiu, in whose hospital Guo Bin received the treatment, said the surgery went well and he should be fitted with prosthetic eyes in four to six weeks.
Police in the boy’s home province of Shanxi said they suspect the boy’s aunt gouged out his eyes. But they have not identified a motive, and the woman later committed suicide.
The boy’s relatives have said they don’t believe she could have carried out the attack.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 09/11/2013