Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/144437
Wednesday, July 17, 2013 – Daily News 5B WORLD BRIEFING Egypt's new Cabinet includes 3 women and 3 Christians CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's interim leader swore in a Cabinet on Tuesday that included women and Christians but no Islamists as the military-backed administration moved swiftly to formalize the new political order and present a more liberal face that is markedly at odds with the deposed president and his supporters. The changes came at a time of deep polarization and violence in Egypt, including new clashes that killed seven people as part of the continuing bloodshed that has marked the days following the armed forces coup that swept President Mohammed Morsi from office and cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt's military already wields great influence behind the scenes, and the army chief, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who ousted Morsi on July 3, was given a promotion in the Cabinet. He became a first deputy prime minister in addition to keeping his post as defense minister. For most of the two years since the overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak, the country has been split into two camps — one led by Morsi, his Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies, and another led by secular Egyptians, liberals, Christians and moderate Muslims. The fault lines remain, except that the Islamist camp is no longer in power. It does not include members of any Islamist parties — a sign of the enduring division that follows the removal of Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president. Accord on stalled Obama nominations WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate stepped away from the brink of a meltdown on Tuesday, confirming one of President Barack Obama's long-stalled nominees, agreeing to quick action on others and finessing a Democratic threat to overturn historic rules that protect minority-party rights. ''Nobody wants to come to Armageddon here,'' said Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat whose talks with Arizona Republican John McCain were critical in avoiding a collision that had threatened to plunge the Senate even deeper into partisan gridlock. McCain, a veteran of uncounted legislative struggles, told reporters that forging the deal was ''probably the hardest thing I've been involved in.'' The White House reaped the first fruits of the deal within hours, when Richard Cordray's nomination to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was approved 66-34. He was first nominated in July 2011 and has been in office by virtue of a recess appointment that bypassed the Senate. As part of the Tuesday's agreement, both parties preserved their rights to resume combat over nominations in the future, Republicans by delaying votes and Democrats by threatening once again to change the rules governing such delays. Capture of top leader of Mexico's brutal Zetas drug cartel MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's most brutal drug cartel leader built a business empire stretching from the Southwest United States to Central America, but Miguel Angel Trevino Morales' final days of freedom were spent lying low in the hinterlands of Tamaulipas state, traveling only at night over back roads as Mexican marines closed in on his trail. The last of the Zetas drug cartel's old-guard leaders saw fate swoop in on him in the pre-dawn hours Monday when a military helicopter flew low over his pickup truck, then almost touching the ground, faced down the vehicle with its guns, Mexico Federal Security spokesman Eduardo Sanchez said. The vehicle stopped, and three men emerged. Two hit the ground while the third tried to run. All were captured by marine ground forces who had been watching the movements of 40-year-old Trevino Morale, Sanchez told The Associated Press Tuesday. Not a single shot was fired. Time was clearly running out for the cartel leader better known — and feared — by his nickname, ''Z-40,'' a play on police radio code for a commander. Mexico's navy, which has brought down a number of top drug lords, ''found out that he had been traveling in the early morning hours on dirt roads. They had been corralling him in little by little,'' Sanchez said. Trevino Morales had $2 million in cash and eight rifles with him when marines caught him outside the border city of Nuevo Laredo, long the Zetas' base of operations. He was taken to Mexico City for questioning, but unlike the days of former President Felipe Calderon, there was no perp walk by a handcuffed suspect or piles of cash and guns put on display for the TV cameras. 169 Iraqis just seven days into the Islamic holy month. The death toll in the first week of Ramadan hasn't been that high since 2007, intensifying fears that Iraq is slipping back into widespread chaos. There seems to be little pattern in the range of targets, adding to the sense of unease in what is meant to be a month of spiritual growth and generosity. Several of those killed over the past week died at a busy northern teashop while playing mehebis, a game where players hope to win sweets by guessing who among their opposing team is hiding a ring in their hands. Others were slain as they swam with friends, or as they shopped for festive evening dinners, or made their way home from mosques after late-night prayers. Even for Iraqis who have grown used to hearing about random violence, day after day of double-digit death tolls makes for a worrying trend. Obama seeks to inject calm into Martin case that inflamed passions WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Barack Obama first addressed the death of Trayvon Martin last year, he did so passionately, declaring that if he had a son, he would look like the slain 17-year-old. His powerful and personal commentary marked a rare public reflection on race from the nation's first black president. But now, with the man who fatally shot Martin acquitted and the burden of any future charges squarely on his own administration, Obama is seeking to inject calm into a case that has inflamed passions, including his own. In a brief statement, the president called Martin's killing a ''tragedy'' but implored the public to respect a Florida jury's decision to clear George Zimmerman, the man charged in the teen's death. ''I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher,'' Obama said Sunday. ''But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken.'' The president's restrained response underscores the complicated calculus for the White House as it grapples with the fallout from the racially charged case. Obama faces inevitable questions about the verdict, given his previous statements on the matter and his own race. But as the head of a government considering levying federal charges against Zimmerman, he must also avoid the appearance of influencing an ongoing Justice Department investigation. ''Barack Obama is a lawyer and I think his legal sense is that he should do nothing that would interrupt or disrupt any future matters involving George Zimmerman,'' said Charles Ogletree, a law professor at Harvard University and longtime friend of the president. Wave of attacks make first week of 'Glee' actor Ramadan Monteith BAGHDAD (AP) — Ramadan this year is died of shaping up to be the deadliest in Iraq since a bloody overdose insurgency and rampant sectarian killings pushed the country to the edge of civil war in the wake of the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. Suicide attacks, car bombings and other violence have killed at least VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — ''Glee'' actor Cory Monteith died of an overdose of heroin and alcohol, the British Columbia coroner's office said Tuesday. ''There is no evidence to suggest Mr. Monteith's death was anything other than a most tragic accident,'' the office said in a statement. The 31-year-old was found dead in his Vancouver, British Columbia, hotel room on Saturday, after he didn't check out on time. He was believed to be alone when he died. Police said Monteith had been out with people earlier, but video and electronic records from the hotel indicated he returned to his room by himself early Saturday. Monteith's death recalled the lives of Heath Ledger, Corey Haim and River Phoenix — actors who battled substance abuse and died in their 20s and 30s. Panama holds North Korean ship PANAMA CITY (AP) — A North Korean ship carrying weapons system parts buried under sacks of sugar was seized as it tried to cross the Panama Canal on its way from Cuba to its home country, which is barred by United Nations sanctions from importing sophisticated weapons or missiles, Panamanian officials said Tuesday. The ship appeared to be transporting a radar-control system for a Soviet-era surface-to-air missile system, according to a private defense analysis firm that examined a photograph posted on Twitter by Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli. Martinelli said the ship identified as the 14,000-ton Chong Chon Gang was carrying missiles and other arms, but he provided no specific evidence or details about the cargo. He said on his Twitter account that the arms were ''hidden in containers underneath the cargo of sugar.'' The photo posted by the president shows a green tube that appears to be a horizontal antenna for the SNR-75 ''Fan Song'' radar, which used to guide missiles fired by the SA-2 airdefense system found in former Warsaw Pact and Soviet-allied nations, said Neil Ashdown, an analyst for IHS Jane's Intelligence. Jane's isn't sure where the system in the photo was manufactured but the radar would be useful to North Korea as part of a dense air defense network, Ashdown said. Judge ponders September trial date for Jodi Arias PHOENIX (AP) — A new jury could be impaneled to decide whether Jodi Arias should be sentenced to death or life in prison sometime in late September, a judge said Tuesday, as attorneys continue to file motions and keep mum on any talk of a deal to resolve the case without another trial. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder May 8 in the stabbing and shooting death of boyfriend Travis Alexander in his suburban Phoenix home. About two weeks later, the same jury failed to reach a unanimous decision on her sentence. Her case is now in limbo as prosecutors decide whether to put on another penalty phase with a new jury in pursuit of the death penalty — or simply take the death penalty off the table, a move that would either see Arias spend the rest of her life behind bars or be eligible for release after 25 years. That decision would be up to the judge. Meanwhile, her attorneys are seeking to have set aside the jury's determination that Arias killed her one-time lover in an ''espe- cially cruel'' manner. That finding meant that Arias was eligible for the death penalty. Arias' attorneys argue that the definition of ''especially cruel'' is too vague for jurors with no legal experience to determine what makes one killing more cruel or heinous than another. Their June motion appears to challenge a landmark 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found a defendant has the right to have a jury, rather than a judge, decide on the existence of an aggravating factor that makes the defendant eligible for capital punishment. Delay of health law's employer requirement WASHINGTON (AP) — There's a bit of a domino effect undercutting President Barack Obama's health care law. Enforcement of the overhaul's central mandate — that individual Americans must have coverage — could be weakened by the Obama administration's recent delay of a requirement that larger employers provide medical insurance. That's because the delayed rule also required companies to report health insurance details for employees. Without employers validating who's covered, a scofflaw could lie, and the government would have no easy way to check. The Treasury Department said Tuesday it expects any impact to be minor, since most people will not risk telling the government a lie. 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