Al-Qaida’s head defies boss over Syria fight
BAGHDAD – The leader of al-Qaida’s Iraq arm defiantly rejected an order from the terror network’s central command to stop claiming control over the organization’s Syria affiliate, according to a message purportedly from him that was posted online Saturday.
The latest statement by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who heads the Islamic State of Iraq, reveals a growing rift within al-Qaida’s global network. It also highlights the Iraqi wing’s determination to link its own fight against the Shiite-led government in Baghdad with the cause of rebels trying to topple the Iran-backed Syrian regime.
His statement surfaced as rockets rained down on a Baghdad camp housing Iranian exiles, killing three people in the latest sign of growing unrest inside Iraq.
Nicaragua, China ink canal agreement
MANAGUA, Nicaragua – President Daniel Ortega and Chinese businessman Wang Jing have signed an agreement giving his company the right to build a shipping channel across Nicaragua that would compete with the Panama Canal, potentially creating tens of thousands of jobs and fueling an economic boom.
The signing took place a day after Nicaragua’s National Assembly voted to grant Hong Kong-based HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co. a 50-year concession to study, then possibly build and run, the canal.
Critics say the proposal, which was given fast-track approval, contains no specific route for the canal and virtually no details of its financing or economic viability.
U.S.-bound Egypt plane diverted after threat
LONDON – British fighter jets escorted a plane from Cairo bound for New York to an emergency landing in the U.K. after a passenger discovered a letter threatening the aircraft, officials said Saturday.
Flight 985 to John F. Kennedy Airport had around 300 passengers onboard when it was diverted to Glasgow’s Prestwick Airport after a passenger found the letter in a lavatory, EgyptAir chairman Tawfiq Assi said.
Police in Glasgow said the flight was diverted after a “suspicious note” was discovered, adding that there are no reports of any injuries and that officers were making arrangements for the 326 passengers to disembark.
At that point all passengers would be interviewed by police, the local police force said..
Attacks in Benghazi kill 6 Libyan soldiers
TRIPOLI, Libya – Rooftop snipers and knife-wielding assailants killed six soldiers in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi early Saturday, officials said, in the largest attack on the country’s new security forces to date.
The brazen overnight assault by hundreds of plain-clothed gunmen on security installations forced soldiers to withdraw from some of their bases. In one case, soldiers fled out the back door of the First Infantry Brigade’s headquarters in Benghazi as assailants stormed the main gate, torching the building and two military vehicles.
Security officials say 11 people, including assailants, were wounded. The figure includes assailants as well.
It was the second deadly incident to strike the city this week. Thirty-one people, mostly civilians, were killed days earlier at an anti-militia protest.
Grandson says Mandela’s health improving
JOHANNESBURG – Former South Africa President Nelson Mandela’s health has improved, his grandson said Saturday as the 94-year-old spent his eighth day in the hospital recovering from a lung infection.
Mandla Mandela said that when he left his grandfather in Pretoria, before heading to Qunu for a family memorial, “we saw the improvement in his health.”
“The old man is not only ours, but he is for the people of South Africa, Africa, and the whole world,” he said at the funeral of elderly cousin, Florence Nondlela Mandela, in Mandela’s home village in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. “We would like to say, even tomorrow, these prayers are the ones that will make him strong, so that he can feel better and rise from that hospital bed.”
Dozens of children traveled from Soweto to the northern Johannesburg suburb of Houghton where Mandela lives. In light blue hats, white and orange tops, and blue skirts, some held mini South African flags and marched down the street, singing the national anthem. Others in the group held posters that said “We love you, Tata,” and “Long Live.”
Associated Press
