Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/33836
Saturday, June 11, 2011 – Daily News 7A WORLD BRIEFING US defense chief says NATO outlook dim BRUSSELS (AP) — In a stern rebuke, U.S. Defense Sec- retary Robert Gates warned Fri- day that the future of the his- toric NATO military alliance is at risk because of European penny-pinching and distaste for front-line combat. The United States won’t carry the alliance as a charity case, the outgoing Pentagon chief said. Some NATO countries bris- tled, but Britain quickly and heartily agreed. Gates’ assessment that NATO could face ‘‘a dim if not dismal’’ future echoes long- standing concern of U.S. poli- cymakers about European defense spending. But rarely, if ever, has it been stated so directly by such a powerful American figure, widely respected in the United States and internationally. The remarks, at the close of Gates’ final overseas trip, reflect a new reality of con- strained American finances and a smaller global reach. Earlier in the week Gates played ‘‘bad cop’’ to U.S. Pres- ident Barack Obama’s good, criticizing Germany’s absten- tion from the air campaign in Libya two days after Obama lavished an award and fancy White House dinner on visiting Chancellor Angela Merkel. Elite Syrian troops sweep through north YAYLADAGI, Turkey (AP) — Elite Syrian forces moved swiftly through the country’s restive north on Friday, raining tank shells on rebellious towns, torching farmland and shooting protesters who tried to tear down a poster of President Bashar Assad, activists and refugees said. At least 32 people were killed, activists said, and undaunted protests extended to every major city. The leader of neighboring Turkey, angered by violence that has sent more than 4,000 Syrians streaming across the border, accused the Assad regime of ‘‘savagery.’’ Backed by helicopters and tanks, the troops responsible for most of Friday’s violence were believed to be from an elite division commanded by Assad’s younger brother, Maher. The decision to mobi- lize his unit against the most serious threats to the 40-year Assad regime could be a sign of concern about the loyalty of regular conscripts. Syrians who escaped from the town of Jisr al-Shughour into Turkey said the army came after police turned their guns on each other and soldiers refused orders to fire on protesters last week. Syrian state television has said 120 officers and securi- ty personnel were killed by gunmen. A man who remained behind said the few residents left were hoping barricades of burning tires could hold off the reinforcements surrounding them. Germans say local sprouts caused E. coli outbreak BERLIN (AP) — After a month of searching and testing thousands of vegetables, simple detective work trumped science in the hunt for the source of the world’s deadliest E. coli out- break. The culprit: German- grown sprouts. Health officials announced Friday that sprouts from a farm in northern Germany caused the outbreak that has killed 31 peo- ple, sickened nearly 3,100 and prompted much of Europe to shun vegetables. ‘‘It was like a crime thriller where you have to find the bad guy,’’ said Helmut Tschiersky- Schoeneburg, head of Ger- many’s consumer protection agency. Health officials said they tracked the bacteria’s path from hospital patients struggling with diarrhea and kidney failure, to the restaurants where they had dined, to specific meals and ingredients they ate, and finally back to a single farm. There are more questions to answer, including what contam- inated the sprouts in the first place: Was it tainted seeds or water, or nearby animals? The answer is still elusive. Alaska releases Palin emails JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska officials on Friday released thousands of pages of Sarah Palin’s emails, giving a glimpse of her time as governor, her struggles in dealing with gossip about her family and her rise to national prominence as the GOP vice presidential nom- inee. Reporters and photographers crowded into a small office to pick up the six boxes of emails — 24,199 pages and weighing 250 pounds. Some carried the boxes down the stairs and oth- ers, wheeling them on dollies, scrambled to be the first ones to reach elevators. Within minutes of the release, Palin tweeted a link to the website for ‘‘The Undefeat- ed,’’ a documentary about her time as governor and her entrance onto the national polit- ical stage. Her supporters, meanwhile, encouraged everyone to read the messages. ‘‘The thousands upon thou- sands of emails released today show a very engaged Governor Sarah Palin being the CEO of her state,’’ said Tim Crawford, the treasurer of her political action committee, Sarah PAC. ‘‘The emails detail a Governor hard at work.’’ Nearly 100,000 mass in Yemen SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Nearly 100,000 Yemenis protested Friday in a main square of the capital, demand- ing the president’s ouster in the biggest rally since Ali Abdullah Saleh left for Saudi Arabia after he was wounded in an attack on his palace. Saleh’s evacuation for med- ical treatment has thrown Yemen into a dangerous politi- cal standoff, with opponents insisting he now be pushed completely out of power and his allies seeking to preserve his rule. Saleh was wounded in a blast that hit a mosque where he was praying in his presidential palace on June 3. Badly burned, Saleh was rushed to Saudi Ara- bia for treatment along with a number of top officials from his regime who also were wounded in the blast. But the president’s allies say he could return within days and have been resisting U.S. and Saudi pressure to start now on a handover of power. Saleh, who has ruled for nearly 33 years, has held out against a wave of daily protests since late January demanding his removal, throw- ing the country into turmoil. Before he was wounded, oppo- sition tribesmen rose up and battled for two weeks with gov- ernment forces in fighting that shook the capital. The United States fears that the impoverished country’s power vacuum will give even freer rein to al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen, which Washington believes is the terror network’s most active franchise. Already, Islamic militants — some sus- pected of ties to al-Qaida — have taken control of at least two areas in the restive south, a provincial capital Zinjibar and a nearby town Jaar. On Friday morning, war- planes hit militant positions north of Jaar, witnesses and security officials said. They said there were casualties but the number was not known. The night before, troops shelled other militant positions near the town with artillery, killing at least six militants, according to medical officials. The medical and security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. GOPpresidential picture cloudy WASHINGTON (AP) — Newt Gingrich’s campaign defections are just the latest tremor in a constantly shifting GOP presidential landscape that craves some steadiness as a big, early New Hampshire debate nears. Rivals already were trying to poach Gingrich’s donors and top supporters Friday, even as the former House speaker said he would keep campaigning despite the resignations of his top advisers and entire Iowa paid staff. Party insiders eyed the likely entry of Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and a possible bid by Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Mitt Romney’s decision to skip the Iowa straw poll in August, meanwhile, reinforced his image as a front-runner will- ing to pick his shots. And potential candidate Sarah Palin again lent a circus atmosphere to the entire GOP family — this time indirectly — when Alaska released thousands of pages of emails from her days as gover- nor. In short, it was a typical week in the GOP’s free-wheel- ing nominating process. The field is anything but set, and there’s no clear picture of who will emerge to challenge Presi- dent Barack Obama in 2012. Gingrich spoke publicly Fri- day for the first time after the mass resignation of his top aides. Several of them said they were frustrated because he was devoting insufficient time to the nitty-gritty work of meeting and galvanizing supporters in early voting states such as Iowa. Home blast kills Somalia minister MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — An explosion Friday in the home of Somalia’s interior minis- ter killed him and a woman sus- pected of being a bomber as vio- lent demonstrations swept the capital. Security guards and soldiers opened fire on stone-throwing protesters angry at an agreement calling for the ouster of the coun- try’s popular prime minister, killing two people, an official and witnesses said. Interior Minister Abdishakur Sheik Hassan, who also was min- ister for national security, died after shrapnel hit his legs and other parts of his body, said Min- istry of Information spokesman Abdifatah Abdinur. He was earli- er taken to a hospital in critical condition. Abdinur said a dead body of a female suspected to be the bomber was found in the home. Mohamud Abdullahi Wehe- liye, a member of parliament and a relative of Hassan’s, said the minister’s niece carried out the attack and that she was ‘‘sent’’ by al-Shabab,’’ an Islamist militia with ties to al-Qaida. The group has carried out suicide bombings in the past, including ones that tar- geted government officials. There was no immediate official confir- mation of Weheliye’s account. Abdinur said officials were investigating to confirm it was a suicide attack in the two-story, gated building that is normally well protected. The explosion reportedly took place in the sitting room. Carlos Mendoza Congratulations and Happy 18th Birthday Mom, Dad, Alex, Carl and Jere Tyler Phillips #69 Congratulations on graduating and now off to fight for our country! Way to go! Congrats from the first day of school to the last-We knew you could do it! Joshua Yount Graduated from University of San Francisco. Ian M. Murphy accomplishments. Your loving family. We are so proud of your We are so PROUD of you!! Dad, Mom & Jeremy Love, Christopher Charles Lasley We always believed in you! Master’s Degree, History CSU Chico Class of 2011 – Salisbury High School Your Dad, Mom, Willy & Family are so darn proud of you! Charlotte Noble You did it! And now you are on your way to bigger and better things! Congratulations Wyatt! Dad, Laura & Pops