QUOTE OF THE DAY “The Russians bought off our police.We’re angry that the separatists were set free, and
we demand that anyone who calls for the breakup of Ukraine be punished.” Andrei Shpak, one of about 300 protesters who gathered outside regional police headquarters in Odessa, Ukraine Article, 1A Kerry urges Congo chief to yield 3rd term
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo - Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday urged the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo to respect his nation’s constitution and not run for another term in 2016.
There has been speculation among the political opposition that President Joseph Kabila, who has been in office since 2001, might seek to have the constitution amended so that he could run for a third term.
“Clearly, the United States believes that a country is strengthened, that people have respect for their nation and their government, when a constitutional process is properly implemented and upheld by that government,” Kerry said.
Kabila had no comment on Kerry’s appeal and has not said whether he might seek to have the constitution changed.
Kerry, who has promoted the importance of democratic values during a swing through Africa, met Sunday morning with Kabila at his white marble presidential palace to discuss political and security issues.
Kabila became president after his father was assassinated. He was elected in 2006 in a vote that Russell Feingold, American special envoy for the region, said was fair. But the constitution was changed so that Kabila could run for a second term five years later.
43 al-Qaida militants killed in Yemen
SANA, Yemen - Fighting and airstrikes in an al-Qaida stronghold in southern Yemen killed six suspected militants and four soldiers Sunday, the military said, part of an ongoing military campaign that killed another 37 fighters overnight.
The government’s U.S.-backed campaign in Shabwa province against al-Qaida militants is part of a rolling campaign against the group’s hideouts in Yemen.
On Sunday, the military said troops backed by air support stormed a hideout of the group in Naqba hills in Shabwa, an operation that killed six suspected militants and four soldiers. The statement said soldiers arrested four wounded militants and destroyed four of their vehicles.
Earlier Sunday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement that airstrikes and clashes killed 37 suspected al-Qaida fighters overnight in the nearby town of Meyfaa. Intermittent violence persists in the area and soldiers remain deployed there.
Some families have fled the town for the provincial capital.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
Train derails in India, killing at least 18
NEW DELHI - A passenger train traveling through the Western Ghats mountain range on a route connecting Mumbai and Goa in western India derailed Sunday, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than 125 others.
The train’s engine and four of its 20 passenger cars derailed after they emerged about 9:40 a.m. from a tunnel near the village of Nidi in the Raigad district, said Anil Kumar Saxena, a spokesman for Indian Railways. The cause of the derailment was under investigation, Saxena said.
At least 63 of the injured passengers were admitted to Raigad hospitals, and 13 others with serious injuries were sent to Mumbai for treatment, said Praveen Shinde, a senior civil servant of the Raigad district.
Rescuers had to cut open the derailed train cars to reach those trapped inside, according to The Associated Press, citing a police officer. Construction cranes were used to remove the cars from the tracks, the news agency reported.
Afghan leaders help 700 displaced families
ABI BARIK, Afghanistan - As Afghans observed a day of mourning Sunday for the hundreds of people killed in a horrific landslide, authorities tried to help the 700 families displaced by the torrent of mud that swept through their village.
The families left their homes because of the threat of more landslides in the village of Abi Barik in Badakhshan province, Minister for Rural Rehabilitation Wais Ahmad Barmak said.
Another reason for the evacuation was the threat of flooding caused in part by the landslide itself, said Mohammad Daim Kakar, from the Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority.
Authorities visiting from Kabul gave $800,000 to the provincial governor during visits on Saturday and Sunday to use in the aid effort, said Kakar and Barmak, who promised that the government would pay more if needed.
President Hamid Karzai designated Sunday as a day of mourning for the hundreds of people who died. Authorities still don’t have an exact figure on how many people died in the landslide, Barmak said, and estimates have ranged from 250 to 2,700.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 05/05/2014