LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The world must judge [Syrian President Bashar] Assad by what he does, not by what he says. And we cannot sit back and wait any longer.”
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton,
as the U.S. and Arab nations agreed to send money and communications equipment to Syrian opposition fighters Article, 1A
Cruise ship limps into Malaysia port
SANDAKAN, Malaysia - Smiling passengers voiced relief and gratitude after safely leaving a fire-damaged luxury cruise ship that was stranded at sea for 24 hours and limped without air conditioning into a Malaysian port Sunday.
The Azamara Quest drifted off the southern Philippines with 1,000 people aboard after flames consumed one of its engine rooms Friday, injuring five crew members. It restored propulsion the next night and reached the harbor of Sandakan city in Malaysia’s eastern state of Sabah on the island of Borneo late Sunday.
Two ambulances left the port shortly after the ship docked, followed more than two hours later about midnight by a fleet of buses taking passengers to hotels. Inside the buses, several people appeared tired, but many others smiled.
Malaysian police and consular officials from countries including the U.S., Britain and Canada were also present.
Forces in Nigeria raid bomb factory
ABUJA, Nigeria - Security forces raided a suspected bomb factory in Nigeria run by a radical Islamist sect as suspected gunmen from the group launched new attacks against police stations in the nation’s northeast, officials said Sunday.
The latest violence blamed on the sect known as Boko Haram killed two security officials in Kogi state and a local politician in Maiduguri, the group’s spiritual home in Nigeria’s northeast.
Authorities raided the alleged bomb factory Saturday in Okene, a town in Kogi state, that sits just south of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. During the attack, gunfire killed a soldier and a member of the State Security Service, a secret police official told journalists.
The raid saw military helicopters and forces swarm Okene and the surrounding hills, local media reported.
Boko Haram is waging an increasingly bloody fight against Nigeria’s weak central government. Violence blamed on the sect has killed more than 370 people this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.
Plane carrying 43 crashes in Siberia
MOSCOW - A passenger plane carrying 43 people crashed in Siberia shortly after taking off this morning, and Russian emergency officials said at least 16 were confirmed dead but at least 12 survived.
The ATR-72, a French-Italian-made twin-engine turboprop, operated by UTair was flying from Tyumen to the oil town of Surgut with 39 passengers and four crew members.
The aircraft went down outside Tyumen, a major regional center in Siberia. The cause of the crash was not yet clear.
Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Irina Andrianova said the 12 survivors were being flown to a hospital by helicopter. She said 16 bodies had been recovered so far.
The state RIA-Novosti news agency, citing rescue workers, said 17 people had survived the crash.
Russia has seen a string of deadly crashes in recent years.
Some have been blamed on the use of aging Soviet-era aircraft, but industry experts point to a number of other problems, including poor crew training, and crumbling airports.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 04/02/2012