News Briefs
BY Wire reports
Sunday, January 20, 2013
1/20/13 at 3:00 AM
Sanaa, Yemen: Suspected U.S. drone strikes kill eight in Yemen
Yemeni military officials say eight people have been killed in two suspected U.S. drone strikes in Abieda valley in central Marib province.
Residents contacted by The Associated Press say that at least two of the eight people killed in Saturday evening's strikes were known al-Qaida militants of Saudi nationality. They identified one as Ismail bin Jamil.
They say at least three of the bodies were charred beyond recognition.
Security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media. Residents spoke anonymously for fear of reprisal.
The U.S. has carried out dozens of suspected drone attacks against al-Qaida in Yemen, which Washington considers the group's most active branch.
The nation on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula is among the poorest in the region.
Cairo : Clashes erupt at trial of Egypt security officers
Riot police fired tear gas Saturday to disperse dozens of demonstrators throwing rocks outside an Alexandria courthouse where the city's ex-security director and other officers are on trial for the killing of protesters during Egypt's 2011 uprising.
The confrontation comes a week before the country marks the second anniversary of the revolt that ousted the country's longtime autocratic ruler, Hosni Mubarak, and highlights the frustration expressed by many over the pace of reform in the Arab world's most populous nation.
Alexandria's former security director Mohammed Ibrahim is on trial along with five other police officers accused of using excessive violence to put down the 18-day revolt.
Relatives of the dead say they have little confidence in the justice system or police investigations.
London : Avalanche kills four in Scottish Highlands
An avalanche killed four climbers in the Scottish Highlands on Saturday, police said.
The victims were in a group of six climbers - three men and three women - who were at Glencoe, one of Scotland's best-known glens, when a snow slope broke away.
The BBC said five of them were swept down the mountain in ice and snow, with four dying and one being saved and hospitalized in serious condition. The sixth climber managed to escape unharmed and call emergency services, police said.
Spencer, N.C. : Police: 5 killed in N.C. when SUV hits tree
Police in North Carolina say the death toll has risen to five after an SUV carrying nine people crashed into a tree. Four children also were hurt.
Police in the Rowan County town of Spencer said Saturday the driver of the GMC Envoy and four passengers were killed in the wreck Friday night. Spencer is about 50 miles northeast of Charlotte.
Authorities identified the driver as 28-year-old Angela Monique Dunlap of Spencer. Also killed were 25-year-old Sean Jacobs and 4-year-old Karizma Sexton, who shared the same Salisbury address; and 10-year-old Daja Cathcart and 45-year-old Vincent McNeal of Salisbury.
Three other children were being treated at a Winston-Salem hospital. A 10-year-old boy suffered minor injuries.
Caracas, Venezuela: Venezuela VP accused of campaigning for support
Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro has begun rallying supporters so often on television that opponents are suggesting he is campaigning for support while ailing President Hugo Chavez remains out of sight in Cuba.
Maduro visited an outdoor government-run market on Saturday, promoting vegetables and other foods at cheap prices. In other appearances this past week, he presented new public housing and inaugurated a school.
"Maduro campaigning, be prepared!" opposition leader Henrique Capriles said in a message on his Twitter account on Friday night. Other opposition politicians have questioned Maduro's higher profile, saying it suggests an effort to make him a more familiar voice for Venezuelans and promote him as an eventual presidential candidate.
Before his latest cancer surgery, Chavez said that if his illness cuts short his presidency, Maduro should run in a new election to take his place.
Associated Images:
A man crosses himself while bathing in the ice cold water after plunging into it to mark Epiphany in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Saturday. The temperature in St. Petersburg is -7.6 F. DMITRY LOVETSKY / Associated Press
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