1. The Daily Reflector, Sunday, November 13, 2011 A
NatioN WoRLD
manama, bahrain sanaa, yemen tehran, iran belize city
Iran-linked terror plot rumored Yemeni forces kill 6 al-Qaida U.S. chiropractor brutally slain
Bahrain said a terrorist cell plotting at- A Yemeni security official said soldiers Police in Belize have detained several
tacks against the Gulf kingdom has been have killed six al-Qaida-linked fighters in people for questioning in the brutal slay-
uncovered by security officials in neigh- a southern city. ing of a retired New Mexico chiropractor.
boring Qatar and that the four suspects Months of battles have failed to fully Polie spokesman Sgt. Fitzroy Yearwood
have links to Iran. restore the government’s control over the said 68-year-old Larry Johnson was killed
The Interior Ministry said in a state- city of Zinjibar. during a home invasion at the Iguana
ment Saturday that the four detained It is one of several places in the south Creek Resort he owned, 60 miles west of
Bahrainis had a laptop containing sen- seized by Islamic militants during the Belize City.
sitive security information about spe- spiraling unrest triggered by the up- One of Johnson’s workers recalled
cific locations. rising against President Ali Abdullah seeing six masked men beating the re-
These locations range from the Saudi Saleh. tired chiropractor Wednesday night.
Embassy to the Interior Ministry build- The security official said six soldiers The worker Julio Funez was lashed by a
ing in Bahrain’s capital. were wounded in Saturday’s fighting. machete in the attack and told reporters
Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy got help The official was speaking on condition the men tied both of them up in John-
from Saudi Arabia in cracking down of anonymity because he was not autho- son’s van and doused the vehicle with
on a Shiite-led protest movement that rized to brief reporters. the associated press gasoline.
was recently ignited by the uprisings Anti-government protests continued an accidental explosion at a Johnson moved to Belize with his
sweeping the Arab world. Saturday. revolutionary Guard ammunition depot wife in 1993 after a dispute over taxes
Both nations fear that regional rival In the capital, Sanaa, a U.N. envoy met outside Bidganeh village killed at least and bought the rainforest land where
and Shiite power Iran is aiding the un- Yemen’s vice president Saturday to push 17 people on saturday, officials said. the he built the resort, according to its web-
rest. for a transition of power. explosions occurred when personnel were site.
The suspects have been extradited to He also visited a field hospital and met transporting munitions at a base, Guard
Bahrain. with anti-Saleh protesters. spokesman ramazan sharif said. From Associated Press reports
Berlusconi
resigns,
signs of a
new era
by nicole WinField
the associated press
ROME — Italian Premier
Silvio Berlusconi resigned
Saturday after parliament’s
lower chamber passed Eu-
ropean-demanded reforms,
ending a 17-year political
era and setting in motion a
transition aimed at bring-
ing the country back from
the brink of economic cri-
sis.
A chorus of Handel’s
“Alleluia,” performed by a
few dozen singers and clas-
sical musicians, rang out in
front of the president’s pal-
ace as thousands of Italians
poured into downtown
Rome to rejoice at the end
of Berlusconi’s scandal-
marred reign.
Hecklers shouted “Buf-
foon, Buffoon!” as Berlus-
coni’s motorcade entered
and exited the presidential
palace, where he tendered
his resignation to President
Giorgio Napolitano, the
palace said in a statement.
Respected former Euro-
pean commissioner Mario
Monti remained the top
choice to try to steer the
country out of its debt woes
as the head of a transitional
government, but Berlus-
coni’s allies remained split
over whether to support
him.
Their opposition wasn’t
expected to scuttle Napoli-
tano’s plans to ask Monti to
try to form an interim gov-
ernment once Berlusconi
resigns, but it could make
Monti’s job more difficult.
Napolitano is expected to
hold consultations Sunday
with all of Italy’s political
forces before proceeding
with his expected nomina-
tion of Monti.
Late Saturday, Berlus-
coni’s party said it would
support Monti, albeit with
conditions.
Berlusconi’s resignation
was set in motion after the
Chamber of Deputies, with
a vote Saturday of 380-26
with two abstentions, ap-
proved economic reforms
which include increasing
the retirement age starting
in 2026 but do nothing to
open up Italy’s inflexible
labor market.
The Senate approved it a
day earlier and Napolitano
signed the legislation Sat-
urday afternoon, paving
the way for Berlusconi to
leave office as he promised
to do after losing his parlia-
mentary majority earlier in
the week.
He chaired his final
Cabinet meeting Saturday
evening.