LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY "The lack of stability and security in Iraq will definitely affect the region." Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, speaking at a news conference in Baghdad Article, 9A
Two foreign civilians kidnapped in Darfur
KHARTOUM, Sudan - An armed group kidnapped two foreign civilians working for the U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur on Saturday, a spokesman for the peacekeepers said.
The peacekeeping mission has made contact with the kidnappers, who took the two civilians at about 4:30 a.m. from their home in Zalingei, some 60 miles southeast of the West Darfur capital of al-Geneina, spokesman Noureddine Mezni said.
He did not reveal the names or nationalities of the kidnap victims, pending notification of their families, but said they are international staff members.
Mezni declined to provide any details about the kidnappers, only referring to them as an armed group.
The Darfur conflict started in 2003 when rebels - most of them ethnic Africans - took up arms against the government, complaining of neglect and discrimination. Khartoum is accused of unleashing Arab militias, who have waged a campaign of violence against civilians, including killings and rapes.
Canadian area searched in slayings probe
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Canadian police were searching a northern British Columbia property for the remains of one of 18 women who have vanished over decades along what has become known as the "Highway of Tears."
Nicole Hoar, 25, disappeared along Highway 16 near the city of Prince George, 320 miles northeast of Vancouver, while hitchhiking in June 2002.
Police have linked Hoar's case to a string of killings and disappearances of women hitchhiking along Highway 16.
The disappearances date back to 1969.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl. Anne Linteau said Saturday the ongoing investigation into the deaths brought police to a 5-acre property in Isle Pierre, 50 miles west of Prince George.
Linteau said police are doing a grid search in a wooded area of the property that is expected to take several days. Linteau said a previous owner of the property is a person of interest but declined to identify the person.
Laden Indonesia ferry sinks; 10 dead
JAKARTA, Indonesia - An overcrowded ferry sank in Indonesia, leaving 10 people dead and at least 12 others missing, police and media reports said Saturday.
The Sari Mulia capsized Friday night in the Negara River in the South Kalimantan province while traveling from Negara to Banjarmasin on Indonesia's part of Borneo island, police Sgt. Fery Aditya Sasmita said.
He said that 10 people were found dead and 112 were rescued.
Rescuers were still searching for 12, many of whom were believed to be trapped inside the sunken ship, he said.
The official Antara news agency reported that the ship's manifest indicated there were at least 132 passengers and crew onboard. But Sasmita said that the passengers accounted for already exceeded the registered number, so the death toll could be higher.
The wooden ship, which sank about 60 miles from Banjarmasin, was intended for only 45 passengers and cargo, Antara's report quoted local police spokesman Lt. Rizqi Maulana as saying.
India loses contact with lunar satellite
NEW DELHI - India's national space agency said communications with the country's only satellite orbiting the moon snapped Saturday and that its scientists were no longer controlling the spacecraft.
Radio contacts with Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft were abruptly lost at 1:30 a.m. local time Saturday, the Indian Space Research Organization said.
The agency's monitoring unit near the southern city of Bangalore is no longer receiving data from the spacecraft, spokesman S.
Satish told The Associated Press by telephone from Bangalore.
The spacecraft had completed 312 days in orbit and orbited the moon more than 3,400 times.
"We are studying the telemetry data and trying to figure out what is the problem," Satish said. The space agency had received a large volume of data from the spacecraft, and most of the scientific objectives of the mission had been met, he said.
The spacecraft had been controlled from a monitoring center at Byalalu, 18 miles southwest of Bangalore, sending it commands to change direction, speed and to focus the cameras. Satish said it was no longer receiving commands.
Front Section, Pages 13 on 08/30/2009