LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I am not guilty of these charges. I did not authorize, nor was I aware of, phone hacking under my editorship.”
Rebekah Brooks, former editor of
News of the World, after criminal charges were filed against her and seven other figures in the widespread phone-hacking case Article, 1AGhana president dies; No. 2 sworn in
ACCRA, Ghana - Ghanaian Vice President John Dramani Mahama was sworn in as the West African nation’s leader after the sudden death of President John Atta Mills, who led the country to the fastest pace of economic growth on the continent.
Mahama, 53, took the oath of office at the nation’s Parliament late Tuesday, about six hours after Mills died at a military hospital in Accra, the capital. The late president, who was 68, had fallen ill about noon, Mahama said, givingno information on the cause of death.
Mills, a former university economics professor, was elected at the end of 2008 by less than 1 percent of the vote. He was to run again in elections in December. In 2009, President Barack Obama chose Ghana for his first African visit - testimony to the solidity of the country’s democracy - and in 2011, Ghana began exporting oil for the first time, sending out 23.5 billion barrels.
“President Atta Mills dedicated his entirelife to our dear nation,” Mahama said after being sworn in before lawmakers who were wearing strips of red cloth to signify the leader’s sudden death. “Our finest tribute to him at this moment is to maintain the unity and stability of our nation.”Egypt’s president names new premier
CAIRO - Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi named U.S.-trained water resources Minister Hisham Qandil as the new premier, tapping a little-known politician to steward a nation mired in a political tug of war and struggling with a battered economy.
Qandil was asked to form a government in the very near future, the Middle East News Agency said, citing Morsi spokesman Yasser Ali.
Qandil “is an independent, nationalist figure who does not belong to any political group, either before the January 25 revolution or after it,” Ali said.
Qandil’s appointment ended weeks of uncertainty over who would form the government that is to take power from the administration appointed by the military council that handed over power to Morsi on June 30. Morsi had pledged to appoint a figure from outside the Muslim Brotherhood from whose ranks he was drawn, as he sought to ease tensions with political groups that were concerned that Islamists were gaining too much power.
Attack kills NATO hauler in Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Gunmen opened fire on a convoy carrying NATO troop supplies to Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing a driver in the first attack in Pakistan since Islamabad ended its seven-month blockade of the route, a government official said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban had warned they would target the trucks after the government reopened the supply line earlier this month.
Gunmen targeted the trucks as they were passing near a bazaar in the town of Jamrud in the Khyber tribal area, said Faraz Khan, a local government official. Jamrud is located very close to Torkham, one of the two crossings used to transport NATO supplies to Afghanistan.
In addition to the driver who was killed, a second driver and his assistant were wounded, said Khan.
Vincente hits China as tropical storm
HONG KONG - The strongest typhoon to hit Hong Kong in 13 years swirled into southern China as a tropical storm Tuesday, still potent enough for mainland authorities to order the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and warn residents of possible flooding.
On the mainland, Chinese state media said that even in its weakened condition, Vincente could dump 12 inches of rain in Guangxi province after it passes through Guangdong, adjacent to Hong Kong.
Authorities evacuated more than 42,000 people in the Guangdong city of Maoming and were preparing to cope with possible “flash floods, mudslides, landslides and other disasters,” state media reported.
Vincente made landfall near Hong Kong at 4 a.m. after the Hong Kong Observatory issued its No. 10 hurricane signal - the highest - for the first time since 1999.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 07/25/2012