Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/312552
ByDesmondButler The Associated Press SOMA, TURKEY Amidwails of grief and anger, rescue workers coated in grime trudged repeatedly out of a coal mine Wednesday with stretchers of bodies that swelled the death toll to 274 — the worst such disaster in Turkish history. Hopes faded for 150 oth- ers still trapped deep under- ground in smoldering tun- nels filled with toxic gases. Anti-government protests broke out in the mining town of Soma, as well as Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan heckled as he tried to show concern. Protesters shouted "Mur- derer!" and "Thief!" and Er- dogan was forced to seek ref- uge in a supermarket, sur- rounded by police. The display of anger could have significant repercus- sions for the Turkish leader, who is widely expected to run for president in the Au- gust election, although he has not yet announced his candidacy. Tensionswerehighashun- dreds of relatives and miners jostled outside the mine's en- trance Wednesday, waiting for news amid a heavy police presence. Rows of women wailed uncontrollably and men knelt sobbing or simply stared in disbelief as rescue workers removed body after body, some charred beyond recognition. One elderly man wearing a prayer cap wailed after he recognized one of the dead, and police had to restrain him from climbing into an ambulance with the body. An injured rescue worker who emerged alive was whisked away on a stretcher to the cheers of onlookers. Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said 787 people were inside the coal mine at the time of Tuesday's explosion: 274 died and 363 were res- cued, including scores who were injured. The death toll topped a 1992 gas explosion that killed 263 workers near Turkey's Black Sea port of Zongul- dak. It also left 150 miners still unaccounted for. Yildiz said rescue work- ers were trying late Wednes- day to reach the bodies of up to 22 people trapped in one zone. Some of the workers were 1,400 feet (420 meters) deep inside the mine, he said. One rescue worker who declined to be named said he led a 10-man team about a half-mile down into the mine's tunnels, where they recovered three bodies be- fore being forced to flee be- cause of smoke from burning coal. Rescue operations were halted for several hours this morning because high gas concentrations in the mine neededtobecleared.Thelast miner rescued alive emerged from the mine around dawn and the first burials took place later Wednesday. Giza Nergiz, a 28-year-old English teacher, said some of the victims had complained about safety at the mine. "We buried three of our high school friends today," she said, walking with her husband Onur Nergiz, a 30-year-old mine adminis- trator. "A lot of people were complaining about safety, but nobody (in management) was doing anything about it." Erdogan declared three days of national mourning and postponed a trip to Al- bania to visit the mine in Soma, 155 miles (250 kilo- meters) south of Istanbul. He warned that some radi- cal groups would try to use the disaster to discredit his government. "Our hope is that, God willing, they will be brought out," Erdogan said of those still trapped. "That is what we are waiting for." Yet his efforts to show compassion — discussing rescue operations with au- thorities, walking near the mine entrance, trying to comfort two crying women —didnotalwaysgooverwell. At a news conference, he tried to deflect a question about who was responsi- ble for the disaster, saying: "These types of things in mines happen all the time." "Theseareordinarythings. There is a thing in literature called'workaccident'...Ithap- pens in other work places, too," Erdogan said. "It hap- pened here. It's in its nature. It's not possible for there to be no accidents in mines. Of courseweweredeeplypained by the extent here." TURKEY 274 dead in mine disaster EMRAHGUREL—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Riot police try to stop protesters who were attacking the offices of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, in Soma, Turkey. By Haruna Umar The Associated Press BAUCHI, NIGERIA The vil- lagers knew an attack was coming, so they used the dark of night to ambush the suspected Boko Haram mil- itants, killing scores and ar- resting at least 10 in a move to deter the extremists and make future attacks "im- possible." Vigilante groups have been springing up in north Nigeria over the past year amid accusations the mili- taryisnotactingfastenough against the Islamic extrem- ists who are holding captive more than 270 schoolgirls. In Kalabalge, a village about 155 miles from the Borno state capital of Mai- duguri, where the terror- ist network was born, res- idents said they took mat- ters into their own hands. On Tuesday morning, after learning about an im- pending attack by the mil- itants, villagers ambushed two trucks with gunmen, residents and a security official told The Associ- ated Press. At least 10 mil- itants were detained, and scores were killed, the offi- cial said, speaking on condi- tion of anonymity because he is not authorized to give interviews to journalists. It was not immediately clear where the detainees were being held. Kalabalge trader Ajid Musa said that after res- idents organized the vig- ilante group, "it is impos- sible" for militants to suc- cessfully stage attacks there. "That is why most at- tacks by the Boko Ha- ram on our village contin- ued (to) fail because they cannot come in here and start shooting and killing people," he said. Earlier this year in other parts of Borno, extremists launched more attacks in what some feared was retaliation over the vigilante groups. Borno is where more than 300 girls were ab- ducted last month and one of three Nigerian states where President Goodluck Jonathan has imposed a state of emergency, giving the military special powers to fight the Islamic extrem- ist group, whose stronghold is in northeast Nigeria. Britain and the U.S. are now actively involved in the effort to rescue the missing girls. U.S. Attorney Gen- eral Eric Holder said FBI agents and a hostage ne- gotiating team are in Ni- geria now, providing tech- nology and other materials and working with "our Ni- gerian counterparts to be as helpful as we possibly can." U.S. reconnaissance aircraft are flying over Ni- geria in search of the miss- ing girls. The group kidnapped the girls on April 15 from a school in Chibok. At least 276ofthemstillareheldcap- tive, with the group's leader threatening to sell them into slavery. In a video released on Monday, he offered to re- lease the girls in exchange forthefreedomofjailedBoko Haram members. A Nigerian government official has said "all options" are now open — including negotiations or a possible military operation with for- eign help — in efforts find the missing girls. Nigerians dressed in red shirts and holding ban- ners that read #BringBack- OurGirls marched on the streets of Abuja, the capital, Tuesday toward the gover- nor's lodge, calling for more to be done to secure the re- lease of the students. NIGERIA Vi gi la nt es k il l Islamic militants By Yuras Karmanau The Associated Press KIEV, UKRAINE European- backed peace talks on end- ing Ukraine's crisis began with little promise Wednes- day when pro-Russian in- surgents — who weren't even invited to the session — demanded that the Kiev government recognize their sovereignty. The "road map" put forth by the Organization for Se- curity and Cooperation in Europe calls for national dialogue as a first step to- ward resolving the escalat- ing tensions, in which the insurgents have seized gov- ernment buildings in eastern Ukraine and declared inde- pendence, while government forces have mounted limited offensives to retake control of the region. But instead of a dialogue, the day was more a case of competing monologues, with the two sides as far apart as ever. Denis Pushilin, a leader of the insurgency in the city of Donetsk, said his faction was not invited to the govern- ment-organized roundtable in Kiev, and that the "talks with Kiev authorities could only be about one thing: the recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic." Acting President Olek- sandr Turchynov said in his opening remarks at the Kiev talks that authorities were "ready for a dialogue," but insisted they will not talk to the pro-Russia gunmen, which the government has denounced as "terrorists." "Those armed people who are trying to wage a war on their own country, those who are with arms in their hands trying to dictate their will, or rather the will of another country — we will use legal procedures against them and they will face justice," he said. The talks lasted 2 hours and ended inconclusively, with only a vague plan to meet again in a few days. Ukraine's crisis began with mass protests last win- ter against Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanu- kovych, who eventually fled to Russia in late February amid rising bloodshed, in- cluding demonstrators killed by snipers alleged to have been police. The protests included a strong faction of Ukrai- nian nationalists. Predomi- nantly Russian-speaking re- gions of eastern and south- ern Ukraine denounced the government in Kiev that took over as a junta bent on repressing them. The Black Sea peninsula of Crimea voted to secede in March and was quickly an- nexedby Russia.Armedmen seized police stations and other buildings in a large swath of eastern Ukraine. Kiev and the West alleged Russia was fomenting the unrest, which Moscow de- nies. The U.S. and European Union has imposed sanc- tions on Russia in the crisis. Ukraine's economy was in perilousshapeevenbeforethe protests, and months of con- stant disorder have raised fears of severe suffering. Rinat Akhmetov, re- garded as Ukraine's richest industrialist and an influ- ential figure in the Donetsk region, made a rare public statement Wednesday urg- ing the region to remain part of Ukraine. "The Donetsk People's Re- public — nobody in the world will recognize it," he said. "We will face huge sanctions and will not be able to sell or produce." At the Kiev roundtable, Oleksandr Efremov, par- liamentary leader of Yanu- kovych's former party, urged the government to withdraw its troops from the Donetsk region and said authorities should understand that peo- ple are genuinely suspicious of the new government. The government has said it will not stop its offensive to retake eastern cities that are under the control of the separatists. Serhiy Taruta, appointed by Kiev as the governor of Donetsk, sought to strike a conciliatory note. Among other things, he urged the government to refrain from calling pro-Russia protest- ers "terrorists," but he also called for it to dismantle the protest camp on Kiev's Inde- pendence Square that led to Yanukovych's departure. That would send a mes- sage that Kiev treats pro- testers on both sides equally, Taruta said. The OSCE road map aims to halt the violence and de- escalate tensions ahead of Ukraine's May 25 presiden- tial election. It offers an am- nestyforthoseinvolvedinthe unrest and urges talks on de- centralization and the status of the Russian language. UKRAINE Peace talks begin, separatists not invited Nearly 800 inside at time of explosion EVGENIY MALOLETKA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Denis Pushilin, center, a leader of the insurgency that has declared an independent "people's republic" in the Donetsk region, said his faction wasn't invited to a government- organized roundtable talks in Kiev. Spotlight HighlightingselectedTehamaCountybusinessesfortheircustomerandcommunityservice! Tehama County Business Local Businesses create and maintain jobs, provide personal customer service, donate to local charitable causes and community betterment projects, generate sales tax revenue ... and turn cities into communities. We hope you will always remember to shop locally first for the goods and services you need! 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The Daily News will feature a special section of photos and write-ups on over 75 "Students of Distinction" from middle and high schools across the county. This project has been created in cooperation with the Tehama County Department of Education. Selections of students featured will be made by schools and Teachers. Thesupplementwillbe published as a special section of the newspaper and as a digital page-turn online edition on www.redbluffdailynews.com through May of 2015! To sponsor a student's photo and accomplishments is just $59 for 1 sponsorship and $55 each for multiples. Local businesses, professionals, educators, local citizens: All are welcome to support Tehama County's most accomplished students, and demonstrate support of local education in the process. Sponsor Deadline: Friday, May 23 Sponsors will be identified in a 3" tall by 1 column wide space at the bottom of each student salute. This special will appear in the full run of the Daily News on Thursday, May 29, 2014 Daily News advertising representatatives can help you decide what to say. Limited opportunity to support students from individual schools. For further information, contact your Daily News advertising representative or Nadine Souza at Honoring Outstanding Tehama County Students (530) 527-2151 advertise@ redbluffdailynews.com PaidforbytheCampaigntoelectLarryOlsen LARRY OLSEN FOR Tehama County District Attorney lao4law@aol.com Learn more about Larry at: www.larryaolsen.com Experience, Integrity, Dedicated to Public Safety NEWS » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, May 15, 2014 MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A8