ROME — Police broke up a suspected terror cell Saturday and arrested five North Africans, including the alleged leader who Italian officials said recruited Islamic extremists for attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan. Authorities also suspect the cell sent tens of thousands of dollars to groups in Bosnia that offer training and logistical support to Iraqi and Afghan terror organizations, the head of the Italian police force’s international terrorism division said. The arrests followed a three-year investigation based on wiretaps and on training material found in previous searches of the suspects’ homes.
Syria: No U.N. nuclear inspectors
Syria said Saturday it would bar U.N. nuclear investigators from revisiting a site bombed by Israeli jets on suspicion it was a secretly built atomic reactor. The move dealt a blow to International Atomic Energy Agency efforts to follow up on intelligence indicating Syria was hiding a nuclear program that could be used to make weapons. Syria denies it has hidden nuclear facilities.
Germany: Lightning hits team
Police say lightning struck 32 soccer players training in western Germany, seriously injuring nine of them. A police statement late Friday said the players were practicing in Wald Michelbach, a village south of Frankfurt, when they were struck. The seriously injured ranged in age from 14 to 30. Three were flown by helicopter to a clinic for treatment and six others were taken to a hospital. The other players from senior and youth amateur teams were treated at the scene. Many suffered from shock.
India: Monsoon rains kill 18
Monsoon rains crumpled homes and triggered flash floods in southern India, killing 18 people, an official said Saturday. Parts of Hyderabad and two other districts of Andhra Pradesh state were inundated when 4.7 inches of rain fell in less than five hours Friday, a government official said. He said it was the heaviest downpour there in eight years. Monsoon rains, vital for India’s farmers, bring massive destruction across the country.
Mexico: Fine for taking extra fuel
A Mexican border city has begun fining U.S. drivers who cross the border to fill extra drums, tanks or barrels with government-subsidized fuel. The city of Ciudad Acuna, across the border from Del Rio, Texas, said Friday that it fined four U.S. residents for carrying extra diesel and would impound their cars until they pay. The fines equal 70 percent of the value of the diesel confiscated. Mexico sells diesel fuel domestically at subsidized prices of about $2.25 per gallon.
Somalia: Pirates free two hostages
Suspected pirates have freed two German hostages kidnapped in June from a yacht off the Gulf of Aden, a local governor said Saturday. The hostages were released Friday night from a hideout in a mountainous area near Puntland, a semiautonomous region of northern Somalia, the governor of Bari region said. He said a $1 million ransom was paid for the hostages only identified as Juergen and Sabine.
Vietnam: Floods, slides kill 62
Landslides and floods killed at least 62 people in northern Vietnam, covering the homes of some victims as they slept in their beds, disaster officials said Saturday. Dozens more were reported missing and officials feared the death toll would rise as they struggled to reach isolated communities. With heavy rain continuing Saturday, rescue workers were trying to move people to higher ground. The province of Lao Cai was the hardest hit, with 25 people reported dead and 35 missing, a provincial disaster official said.
South Dakota: Seattle cop held in Sturgis shooting
An off-duty Seattle police officer has been detained after a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang was shot and wounded during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. It happened about 1 a.m. Saturday in a bar along Sturgis’ main street. Police say there was a confrontation between members of the Hells Angels and the Iron Pigs, a motorcycle group made up of law-enforcement officers. Seattle police say they were notified of the incident, and that four other Seattle officers were apparently also present during the shooting. All five officers were relieved of duty pending an investigation by South Dakota authorities, Seattle police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said. The Sturgis rally officially ends today.
D.C.: FBI apology to newspapers
Director Robert Mueller has apologized to the editors of The Washington Post and The New York Times for improperly obtaining phone records of the newspapers’ reporters while investigating terrorism four years ago. Mueller called Post executive editor Leonard Downie and Times executive editor Bill Keller on Friday to express regret that agents did not follow proper procedures in 2004 when they obtained the phone records of a Post reporter and a researcher and two Times reporters. All four were working in Indonesia and writing about Islamic terrorism at the time.
New York: 1,700 miles by kayak
A solo kayaker’s 1,700-mile journey to promote prostate cancer awareness has wrapped up at a Manhattan pier. Dozens of kayakers and well-wishers greeted Skip Ciccarelli on Saturday as he paddled down the Hudson River. He set out from Chicago 54 days earlier following a route through three of the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal. The 60-year-old kayaker encountered 6-foot waves and heavy thunderstorms during his trip. He says he sometimes sang songs to pass the time but mostly just enjoyed the ride. Ciccarelli teaches at a vocational high school in Massachusetts. He is a prostate cancer survivor himself.
From Herald news services
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