LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This is not your normal heavy-rainfall
flooding. It’s having a major impact.”
Chris Fogarty
of the Canadian Hurricane Center, noting that 8
inches of rain in a few hoursfrom Hurricane Igor has
washed out roads, stranded residents and closed schools in Newfoundland Article, this pageYemen destroys 5 homes in siege
SANA, Yemen - The Yemeni army destroyed five homes suspected of hiding al-Qaida militants Tuesday as a siege of a southern village entered its second day, but officials denied reports that U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was among those surrounded.
Government forces have moved into the village of Hawta with tanks and armored vehicles, and thousands of people have fled the area to escape the fighting, which officials say is targeting a 120-man militant cell.
Troops also fired on vehicles of residents fleeing the village and another nearby trouble spot, the city of Lawder, killing two civilians and wounding three others, according to local government and medical officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the media.
An unofficial website run by government opponents, Alganob.net, reported that al-Awlaki was among those who been surrounded. But the chief municipal official, Atiq Baouda, and the security officials denied that he was in the area under siege. The Yemeni army refused to comment on the operation.
Al-Awlaki played a key part in the failed terrorist Christmas Day attempt to take down a Detroit-bound passenger jet.
French premier urges EU Gypsy plan
PARIS - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Tuesday that the European Union needs a continentwide plan for illegal Gypsy camps and child beggars that he described as plagues of the 19th century.
At the same time, Viviane Reding, the EU justice commissioner, maintained her concerns about France’s expulsions of more than 1,000 Gypsies in recent weeks and said Tuesday that her staff could finish its analysis by Oct. 29 of whether France is violating EU law by unfairly targeting Gypsies.
The standoff between France and the EU leadership has drawn attention to the Gypsies, among the continent’s poorest minorities. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has provoked criticism from the United Nations and the Vatican over the expulsions but insists France is targeting illegal aliens, and he says the Gypsy camps seethe with crime.
“This forced begging, by very young children, in the streets of our cities - who can tolerate this? Who wants Europe to plunge back into the worst of the 19th century?” Fillon asked in a speech Tuesday.
Bus carrying 30 kids plunges into river
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan - A van carrying at least 30 schoolchildren plunged into a river in Pakistan-held Kashmir on Tuesday, and most of the passengers were confirmed or feared dead.
The driver lost control of the vehicle and it plunged 50 feet into the Jhelum River from an elevated road in the regional capital, Muzaffarabad, said local Police Chief Ghulam Akber. Authorities managed to save the driver and four children, he said.
But schoolteacher Bashir Mughal said rescue workers took more than an hour to arrive and it was local villagers who plucked the four children from the water.
Fifteen bodies have been recovered from parts of the river, but the other children are still missing, Akber said. Some bodies may have been collected by local residents before authorities arrived, he said.
Flooding, landslides kill 13 in China
BEIJING - Flooding and landslides from Typhoon Fanapi killed 13 people in southern China and left at least 33 missing, an official said today, as the storm continued to drop heavy rain on parts of the region.
The typhoon hit Guangdong province after making a direct hit on the island of Taiwan on Sunday and dumping more than 40 inches of rain in some places, killing two there.
China’s national meteorological center said Fanapi is the strongest typhoon to hit China this year. It forecast heavy or torrential rains for parts of central and western parts of Guangdong through Thursday morning.
An official with Guangdong’s flood, drought and windcontrol department said 13 were killed in landslides and flooding.
The state-run Xinhua News Agency said the victims included five people killed when a dam at the Xinyi Yinyan Tin Mine in Xinyi city was hit by a landslide and collapsed.
The report cited city officials.
Nearly 350 houses were toppled in Xinyi, Xinhua reported.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 09/22/2010