LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY “If we shut down the opening, then terrorism, warlords and vampires who feed on the blood of the young would win.” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, vowing not to make concessions to Kurdish rebels who have killed 17 Turkish soldiers since Friday.
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Saudis to flog 15 for mixing at party
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Judicial officials say a Saudi court has convicted four women and 11 men for mingling at a party and sentenced them to flogging and prison terms.
The men, who are between 30 and 40 years old, and three of the women, who are under the age of 30, were sentenced to an unspecified number of lashes and one- or two-year prison terms each.
The fourth woman, a minor, was sentenced to 80 lashes.
The ruling was handed down Tuesday at a court in the northern town of Ha’il.
The officials say the police saw the group partying until dawn last month. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam that prohibits unrelated men and women from mingling.
48 killed in Congo when train plunges
BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo - Four train cars full of passengers fell into a ravine in Republic of Congo after a derailment, leaving at least 48 people dead and more than 400 others hurt, said top government officials, who on Tuesday said excessive speed caused the deadly crash.
The government also called for three days of national mourning in a Tuesday night statement issued after a meeting of top officials summoned by President Denis Sassou-Nguesso. Government spokesman Bienvenu Okiemy also said the government will pay for victims’ funerals and that mourning will begin Saturday.
“According to the facts on the ground, excess speed is the main cause of this train accident,” Okiemy said.
Okiemy said the death toll from Monday night’s crash could still rise, as 15 people remained in critical condition and search teams could still find bodies in train cars at the bottom of the ravine. He said 405 people were known to have been hurt.
Jean Miche Ibinda, spokesman for the rail company, said the train was leaving the coastal town of Pointe-Noire and was headed to the capital, Brazzaville, when it derailed.
Hunted Jamaican in police custody
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Ending a month-long search that has cost 76 people their lives, Jamaican authorities Tuesday captured Christopher “Dudus” Coke, 42, an alleged trafficker in guns and drugs who is also wanted in the United States.
Acting on a tip, police captured Coke in St. Catherine parish on the outskirts of Kingston. He was dressed like a woman and wearing a wig, police said.
The capture occurred two days after police offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
Coke was with the Rev. Al Miller, who earlier had mediated the surrender of Coke’s brother, Leighton, to police.
Coke was on his way to surrender at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston when he was stopped at a police checkpoint, Miller told a Reuters reporter.
Police said Tuesday that they are now seeking to arrest Miller, who was not taken in with Coke.
Front Section, Pages 5 on 06/23/2010