LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“These events reinforce the need to combat organized crime on all fronts.”
Mexican Interior Secretary Fernando Gomez Mont,
after the killing of Rodolfo Torre, the front-running candidate for governor in a border state racked by drug-related violence Article, this page
Tanker explodes in Pakistan; 18 die
KARACHI, Pakistan - A truck carrying chemicals accidentally exploded Monday in southern Pakistan after pressure built up in its storage tank, killing 18 people and wounding 40, police said.
Hundreds of people rushed to the truck depot in Hyderabad city to search through the rubble of destroyed shops for dead and wounded, local television footage showed.
Authorities ruled out terrorism and determined the blast occurred from a pressure buildup, said Mohammad Ali Baloch, the senior police official in Hyderabad.
The truck was carrying 7,925 gallons of “thinner,” said Babar Khattak, the police chief in Sindh province where Hyderabad is located.
Pakistan has been racked by terrorist attacks over the past few years, prompting the army to launch a series of offensives against the Pakistani Taliban along the country’s northwest. Militants also often launch attacks on trucks carrying supplies to NATO and U.S. forces in neighboring Afghanistan.
On Monday, Taliban fighters ambushed a Pakistan army convoy as it passed through a village in the Bajur tribal area, killing four soldiers, said Mohammad Jamil Khan, a senior government official in Bajur.
Landslide hits China village, traps 107
BEIJING - A landslide caused by heavy rains trapped at least 107 people Monday in southwestern China and there was little hope for their survival, a local official said.
Rescue efforts were hindered by rain that threatened to wash more mud down hill slopes.
Many homes were buried when the landslide struck the village of Dazhai in Guizhou province Monday afternoon after days of rain, said Huang Pangzun, a resident helping in the rescue effort.
The number of casualties was not immediately known, said an official in Guizhou province who would give only his surname, Xue. Another official, interviewed by state broadcaster CCTV, said nearly half a hill had collapsed, engulfing a wide area in soil.
Large areas of southern China have been hit by flooding in the past week, with at least 239 people killed and another 109 missing - not including those from Monday.
More than 3 million people have fled their homes over the past two weeks, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
U.S., EU to share data on terrorists
BRUSSELS - The European Union and U.S. signed a long-awaited deal Monday to share financial data in suspected terrorist cases, after the U.S. agreed to major concessions to allay European concerns over privacy.
The five-year agreement is to take effect within weeks.
It allows U.S. officials to request financial data from European banks if they suspect accounts are being used by individuals with terrorist links. The U.S. can keep that information for five years.
However, U.S. officials must provide European authorities with reasons for their suspicions, delete or rectify inaccurate data and grant legal redress in U.S. courts if financial information is abused. The agreement also sets out criteria for transferring data to third countries.
The accord is designed to head off disagreements between the U.S. and EU over where personal privacy takes precedence over security investigations. The European Parliament last year rejected extending an interim deal because it said there were not enough safeguards for civil liberties.
Captives free, man arrested in Britain
LONDON - Police said they arrested a gunman who took several people captive at a British bank near London’s Heathrow Airport on Monday.
The gunman, believed to be in his 30s, walked into a branch of Barclays Bank in Ashford, about two miles south of the airport, on Monday afternoon and trapped several people with him inside the building, Surrey Police said.
Witnesses described two groups of customers and staff members leaving the building about an hour or so later although it was not immediately clear whether they escaped or were released by the gunman.
Police said negotiators made contact with the man, who walked out about three hours later. No one was seriously injured.
Barclays Corporate Affairs Director Tim Kiy said his company was “immensely relieved and happy that all those involved are now safe and able to be reunited with their families.”
Front Section, Pages 5 on 06/29/2010