LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This is the first time I am using the term ‘evacuation,’ the first time
I’m really asking you to leave.”
Sukhumbhand Paribatra,
governor of flood-threatened Bangkok Article, this page N. Korea serious threat, Panetta says
SEOUL, South Korea - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday called North Korea a “serious threat” and told U.S. and South Korean troops that they were on the “front line” of defense.
Panetta, who is on his first trip to Seoul as defense secretary, was in Korea to meet with top U.S. commanders and consult with South Korean military leaders on how to respond to North Korean provocations without escalating the long-running conflict.
“This is the front line,” Panetta told 300 U.S. and South Korean troops at the Yongsan Post, a U.S. Army garrison in Seoul.
On previous stops in Indonesia and Japan, Panetta directed his words toward China, which has alarmed its neighbors by claiming most of the South China Sea as its own. In Seoul, Panetta directed his comments toward the government in Pyongyang.
“Working together, our militaries will continue to deter North Korean aggression and stand prepared to defeat the North should it ever force war upon us,” Panetta wrote in an opinion article published Wednesday in the Chosun Ilbo, South Korea’s largest newspaper.
Panetta called North Korea a “serious threat” and said it had “demonstrated its willingness to conduct provocations that target innocent lives.”
Court cuts cleric’s terror sentence
JAKARTA, Indonesia - A radical Islamic cleric accused of setting up a terror training camp in western Indonesia had his prison sentence slashed from 15 years to nine years, an appeals court said Wednesday. No reason was given for the decision.
Abu Bakar Bashir, known as the spiritual leader of al-Qaida-linked militants blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings, was accused of providing key support for the camp that drew together men from almost every known extremist group in the predominantly Muslim country.
They were purportedly planning Bombay-styled gun attacks on foreigners in the capital, Jakarta, and the assassinations of moderate leaders, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
In March, a district court sentenced the 72-year-old cleric to 15 years in prison for inciting terrorism, but his lawyers appealed.
Kenyan admits part in grenade attack
NAIROBI, Kenya - A Kenyan suspect arrested after two grenade blasts this week said in court Wednesday that he took part in one of the attacks and is a member of the al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group al-Shabab.
The grenade blasts came after al-Shabab warned it would attack Kenya in retaliation for its military incursion into southern Somalia. Some, though, questioned whether al-Shabab was behind the attacks given that it already has demonstrated it is capable of killing dozens of people in attacks on foreign soil.
Elgiva Bwire Oliacha, 28, also known as Mohammed Seif, pleaded guilty to nine charges, including causing grievous bodily harm to two people during Monday evening’s blast at a bus stop where hundreds of blue-collar Kenyans were waiting to get a ride home.
An officer with the anti-terror police unit who took Oliacha to court said authorities will bring more charges against him in court Friday, including charges related to the grenade attack on a pub early Monday that wounded a dozen people.
9 die, 6 lost as flash floods lash Italy
ROME - Torrential rains lashed Italy from its northern Alps to the southern island of Sicily, causing flash floods that killed at least nine people and left six others missing, authorities said Wednesday.
The storm that began late Tuesday spared few areas, but the northwest coastal region of Liguria and the central region of Tuscany were the hardest hit.
Six of the victims were in Borghetto Vara, a village in Liguria known for its grapes, wines and chestnuts. Roiling waters and mud tore through the village, 45 miles from Genoa and near the Cinque Terre, a popular vacation area. At least one building collapsed.
Another victim died while trying to clear gutters in the northwestern coastal town of Monterosso, built around a small natural gulf.
Two others were killed in Aulla in the nearby province of Massa Carrara, famed for its marble.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 10/27/2011