News Briefs
BY Wire Reports
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
5/08/12 at 2:40 AM
Sanaa, Yemen: Al-Qaida's blitz attack kills 22 Yemeni soldiers
Al-Qaida militants staged a surprise attack Monday on a Yemeni army base in the south, killing 22 soldiers and capturing 25 just hours after a U.S. drone strike killed a senior figure in the terror network wanted in connection with the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen.
It was not immediately clear if the attack in the southern Abyan province was in retaliation for the killing of Fahd al-Quso, an al-Qaida leader on the FBI's most wanted list.
The militants managed to reach the base from the sea and by land, gunning down troops and making away with weapons and other military hardware after the blitz attack, Yemeni military officials said.
Port-au-Prince, Haiti: U.N. peacekeepers crack down on armed men
Haitian police and U.N. peacekeepers have begun cracking down on bands of armed men lobbying for the country to restore its armed forces, a U.N. spokesman said Monday.
Lt. Cmdr. Jim Hoeft said U.N. troops and national police officers set up checkpoints over the weekend in Haiti's capital and others parts of the country.
The effort aims to discourage an illegal group of armed men from parading around Port-au-Prince in military uniforms as if they were on patrol. Despite repeated orders from the government of Haitian President Michel Martelly, the men haven't stopped carrying their weapons.
Bamako, Mali: Timbuktu schools reopen after rebel takeover
Schools reopened Monday in the city of Timbuktu for the first time since an Islamic faction seized control last month of the fabled tourist outpost, where they are now working to impose Shariah law.
Thousands of residents, including the majority of the city's Christian population, fled Timbuktu in early April, when disparate rebel factions invaded the northern half of Mali and declared independence.
Although the rebels initially claimed they were fighting for a separate homeland, it soon became clear that an Islamic faction within the larger rebel movement had the upper hand in Timbuktu. They have since attempted to impose the strict Islamic code, including the veiling of women and the banning of alcohol.
Bogota, Colombia: Alleged drug trafficker surrenders to U.S. agents
An alleged major Colombian drug trafficker whose paramilitary organization controls major coastal and border smuggling routes surrendered to U.S. drug agents in Aruba and was flown to New York, where he faces criminal charges, Colombian authorities said Monday.
Jose Antonio Calle was indicted in New York's Eastern District last year for the alleged international distribution of 25 metric tons of cocaine, money laundering, racketeering and murder, according to a news release the local U.S. Attorney's Office issued at the time.
The U.S. government had a $5 million reward out for Calle, who deputy police director Gen. Jose Roberto Leon said turned himself in U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents on Aruba, which is just off the Caribbean coast of Colombia.
Bucharest, Romania: Left-leaning government gets lawmakers' approval
Romanian lawmakers on Monday approved a new left-leaning Cabinet that is expected to continue a slate of economic reforms but partially restore public sector wages and pensions slashed as part of austerity measures.
Parliament approved the government of Victor Ponta 284-92, making him Romania's third prime minister this year after previous two centrist governments collapsed over unpopular cuts.
Associated Images:
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee greet each other before a meeting in Kolkata, India, on Monday. BIKAS DAS / Associated Press
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