LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force is unacceptable and unforgivable.The killing of innocent children and civilians needs to stop.”
Maj. Gen. Robert Mood,
head of the U.N. mission in Syria, after an attack left more than 90 people dead, including at least 32 children younger than 10 Article, 1AJapan minister inspects nuclear plant
TOKYO - Japan’s environment and nuclear minister visited the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Saturday to inspect a spent-fuel pool at the center of safety concerns and said it appeared to have been properly reinforced.
The visit by Goshi Hosono, apparently aimed at demonstrating the safety of the facility, came amid renewed concerns about conditions at the plant’s No. 4 reactor after its operator reported a bulging of the building’s wall. Nuclear regulators ordered a new investigation and seismic tests of the building and its pool.
The building was damaged by an explosion and fire soon after the Fukushima plant was hit by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. The pool, located at the top of the building above the reactor, remains one of the plant’s biggest risks because of its vulnerability to earthquakes.
The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., has reinforced the structure and says it now can withstand temblors as strong as last year’s quake.
Afghanistan attacks kill 4 from NATO
KABUL - Four NATO service members were killed in separate roadside bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan, the alliance said Sunday.
NATO said in a statement that all four deaths occurred Saturday. It provided no other details on the attacks, including the nationalities of the service members.
One is thought to be a British soldier killed Saturday in an explosion in the Nahr-e Saraj region of southern Helmand province. The British Ministry of Defense announced late Saturday that the soldier died while traveling in a vehicle.
Another NATO service member died Saturday in an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan. No details have been given on that death.
Their deaths raise to 33 the number of NATO service members killed so far this month in Afghanistan, for a total of 165 this year. A total of 414 members of British forces have died since operations in Afghanistan began more than 10 years ago.
170 Ivorian ex-fighters flee from camp
ACCRA, Ghana - More than 170 Ivory Coast ex-combatants being held in a refugee camp in Ghana’s west have escaped, an official said.
Ken Dzirasah, chairman of the Ghana Refugee Board, said Friday that the ex-combatants likely fled because the board decided to move them to a newly built prison temporarily. He denied that the situation posed a “grave security threat.”
It is unknown how many Ivorian ex-combatants are in Ghana. Ivory Coast’s president last year demanded their repatriation to face trial on accusations they committed humanitarian and war crimes. Ivory Coast also issued warrants for their arrests and urged they be handed over.
Thousands of refugees from Ivory Coast remain in Ghana.
Missiles hit Pakistan bakery; 4 killed
PESHAWAR, Pakistan - An American drone fired two missiles at a bakery in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing four suspected militants, officials said, as the U.S. pushed ahead with its drone campaign despite Pakistani demands to stop. This was the third such strike in the country in less than a week.
Drone attacks in Pakistani tribal areas where Afghan and other militants have found refuge are considered a key tactic by U.S. officials in the war against al-Qaida and its Taliban supporters. But many Pakistanis resent the strikes, which they consider an affront to their sovereignty.
Two Pakistani intelligence officials said the latest attack took place in Miran Shah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region.
The officials said the victims were buying goods from a bakery when the missiles hit. Residents were still removing the debris, officials said. All of the dead were foreigners, but the officials did not have any information on their identities or nationalities.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. The U.S. rarely talks publicly about the covert CIA-run drone program in Pakistan.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 05/27/2012