LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We need to have a serious conversation with the North Koreans where they understand that we’re
going to do things differently in the future.”
Ben Rhodes,
White House deputy
national security adviser Article, this page
Ex-IMF executive charged in France
LILLE, France - A lawyer for Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the former International Monetary Fund chief has been handed preliminary charges purporting he was involved in a French prostitution ring.
Investigating judges questioned Strauss-Kahn for several hours Monday. Lawyer Richard Malka told reporters after Strauss-Kahn left that he was accused of procuring prostitutes and involvement in an “organized gang.”
Malka said Strauss-Kahn denies wrongdoing. The lawyer also said it is wrong to prosecute Strauss-Kahn for “simple libertine activity.”
Under French law, preliminary charges mean authorities have reason to believe a crime was committed, but allow more time for investigation.
Strauss-Kahn quit the IMF after a New York hotel maid said he sexually assaulted her in May. The charges were later dropped.
Tibetan exile, 27, sets himself afire
NEW DELHI - A Tibetan exile lit himself on fire and ran shouting through a demonstration in the Indian capital Monday, just before a visit by China’s president and after dozens of self-immolations done in China in protest of its rule over Tibet.
Indian police swept through the New Delhi protest a few hours later, detaining scores of Tibetans.
The man apparently had doused himself with something highly flammable and was engulfed in flames when he ran past the podium where speakers were criticizing China and President Hu Jintao’s visit.
Fellow activists beat out the flames with Tibetan flags and poured water onto him.
He was on fire perhaps less than two minutes, but some of his clothing had disintegrated and his skin was mottled with black, burned patches by the time he was driven to a hospital.
About 30 such protests have occurred over the past year in ethnic Tibetan areas of China, and a Tibetan set himself on fire last year in India, where many exiles reside.
Beijing has blamed the Dalai Lama for inciting them and called the protesters’ actions a form of terrorism.
Tibetans inside China and exiles say China’s crackdown on Tibetan regions is so oppressive, those who choose such a horrific form of protest feel they have no other way to express their beliefs.
Activists said the exile who set himself on fire Monday is Jamphel Yeshi, 27, who escaped from Tibet in 2006 and has been living in New Delhi for two years. Protesters initially prevented police from taking him to the hospital, but officers eventually forcibly took him away.
Cruise ship yields five more bodies
GIGLIO, Italy - Divers on Monday recovered five bodies found last week in the wreck of the Costa Concordia, more than two months after the cruise ship struck a reef and capsized off Italy’s Tuscan coast.
Italy’s Civil Protection Agency said that by late afternoon divers had removed all five bodies located by search crews last week in the Jan. 13 wreck off Giglio island.
The discovery last week raised to 30 the number of bodies found. Two people remain missing and are presumed dead. No details have been given about the latest victims recovered.
Front Section, Pages 5 on 03/27/2012