UNITED STATES
Body in barrel sparks arrest
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a body was found stuffed inside a plastic barrel that was dumped in front of Sonoma’s City Hall in northern California. Sheriff’s officials said Friday night’s discovery of the blood-stained barrel led detectives to a mobile home where they thought Ronald Sauvageau, 64, was killed. They served a search warrant and arrested Christopher McNatt, 40. An autopsy is to be conducted today to determine the cause of death. Sheriff’s Sergeant Cecile Focha told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that a weapon thought to be used in the killing was recovered, but she declined to elaborate on the type of weapon, the relationship between the men or a motive.
CHILE
Girl drops euthanasia plea
An ailing Chilean girl who made a public plea for permission to end her life has changed her mind, according to her father. Fredy Maureira told reporters on Sunday that his 14-year-old daughter, Valentina, has changed her mind after meeting people who responded to her plea for euthanasia to escape cystic fibrosis. “Yes, she is thinking about it,” Maureira said. The girl told the El Mercurio newspaper that “there are people who have led me to change my way of thinking.” A video in which Valentina asked Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to let her undergo euthanasia gained global attention last month after it was posted on YouTube. Bachelet, a pediatrician, visited the girl and her family, but the government said it could not approve her request.
CHILE
Earthquake rattles north
The US Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.1 earthquake has struck in far northern Chile. There were no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami warning. The USGS said the epicenter was 33km southeast of Putre at a depth of 128km. It hit at 1:51am yesterday.
GUINEA
Truck accident kills 10
At least 10 people were killed and 11 injured when a truck overturned in the nation’s east, a security source said on Saturday. The accident happened on Friday near the town of Beyla, the source told reporters from the capital, Conakry, adding that the 11 people were “seriously injured.” The truck was headed to a weekly market, but “turned over when the driver approached a turn,” the source said. According to an initial probe, “speeding and reckless driving” appeared to be behind the accident, the source added. It was not clear how many people were on the truck at the time.
THAILAND
Briton shoots self at range
Police yesterday said they were probing the death of a British tourist who apparently shot himself dead at a firing range on Phuket. Officers are examining CCTV footage from the Thalang Shooting Range which appears to show the Briton standing alongside a staff member before turning a gun on himself on Saturday afternoon. The visibly distraught employee is seen walking away from the scene holding his head in his hands. “We are investigating the CCTV images. We have not yet concluded whether it was an accident or suicide,” said police Colonel Chanuchan Chonsuwat of the Thalang district on the island. A spokesman for the British Embassy in Bangkok said it was aware of the incident and providing consular assistance to the family. The spokesman could not immediately provide any further details.
‘TERRORIST ATTACK’: The convoy of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri resulted in the ‘martyrdom of five of our armed forces,’ the Presidential Leadership Council said A blast targeting the convoy of a Saudi Arabian-backed armed group killed five in Yemen’s southern city of Aden and injured the commander of the government-allied unit, officials said on Wednesday. “The treacherous terrorist attack targeting the convoy of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri, commander of the Second Giants Brigade, resulted in the martyrdom of five of our armed forces heroes and the injury of three others,” Yemen’s Saudi Arabia-backed Presidential Leadership Council said in a statement published by Yemeni news agency Saba. A security source told reporters that a car bomb on the side of the road in the Ja’awla area in
‘SHOCK TACTIC’: The dismissal of Yang mirrors past cases such as Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle, who was executed after being accused of plotting to overthrow his nephew North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has fired his vice premier, compared him to a goat and railed against “incompetent” officials, state media reported yesterday, in a rare and very public broadside against apparatchiks at the opening of a critical factory. Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho was sacked “on the spot,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, in a speech in which Kim attacked “irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials.” “Please, comrade vice premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late,” Kim reportedly said. “He is ineligible for an important duty. Put simply, it was
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he had agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa on Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus, and fighting this month between the Kurds and government forces. The agreement would also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on
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