The Sun /Sunday, January 19, 2014 www.sunnewspapers.net WORLD NEWS WIRE Page 9 WORLD 1,004 white rhinos poached in South Africa in 2013 (LA Times) The world's largest surviving population of white rhinos suffered its heaviest toll on record last year when poachers killed more than 1,000 of the threatened animals to feed an international market for trinkets and potions made from their horns. The South African Department of Environmental Affairs reported Friday that it had counted 1,004 rhinos killed by poachers in 2013, mostly in Kruger National Park, along the porous border with Mozambique. It was the worst year for rhinoceros poaching since the government began tracking the illegal hunting in the early 1900s, National Geographic reported. Clashes, bombings kill 30 people BAGHDAD (AP)- Violence across Iraq, including a series of car bombings and fighting between militants and government troops over control of the country's contested Anbar prov- ince, killed at least 30 people Saturday, officials said. The bombings struck neighborhoods around the capital, Baghdad. A car bomb exploded near a restaurant in the western neighborhood of Mansour, killing four people and wounding 12, police said. Another exploded near a bus sta- tion in eastern Baghdad, killing four people and wounding six, authorities said. In northern Baghdad, a car bomb blast near a hospital killed four peo- ple and wounded eight, police said. Rocket fire kills at least 8 in Lebanon in worrisome sign of Syria conflict BEIRUT (AP) -Rockets rained down Friday on villages throughout Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, with Sunni and Shiite villages targeted in one of the worst outbreaks of sectarian violence in months as the division between the two commu- nities over the civil war in Syria deepens. Residents ofArsal, a predominately Sunni border town that staunchly supports the Syrian rebellion, reported that rockets fired from a nearby Shiite Muslim enclave controlled by Hezbollah had struck the center of the city, killing at least eight people and wounding 20. The Lebanese National News Agency quoted anony- mous officials saying that the rockets had been fired from neighboring Syria, but residents of Arsal were adamant that the muni- tions had originated with Hezbollah, which also operates inside Syria in defense of its ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad. Priests take lead in revolt against drug gang Priests take lead in revolt against drug gang APATZINGAN, Mexico (MCT) In medieval times, a powerful Christian military order known as the Knights Templar fought during the Crusades. Today, meth-peddling gangsters have taken the Templar name, and in an ironic twist they are finding Roman Catholic clergy among their fiercest enemies. In the embattled Mexican state of Michoacan, Catholic priests are openly backing armed vigilante groups that are waging war against the Knights Templar gang. Some priests allow the vigilantes to ring church bells to summon citizens to meetings. Others use their pulpits to lambaste local and state officials for colluding with the Knights Templar. The anger of the clergy is aimed with equal vehemence at gangsters and at government officials, who they say have not done enough to rein in crime and extortion. That vexation will get a vast airing at morning Mass today, when priests across the Apatzingan diocese will read a scathing pastoral letter from Bishop Miguel Patino Velazquez that accuses federal police and soldiers of doing little to capture Knights Templar bosses. "Their leaders are fully identified and yet no authority stops them," the letter says. In his letter, Patino evokes the Nazi era, saying Christian believers should not only console the victims but also halt the campaign of killing. "We ask politicians, the government and the Interior Secretariat to give people of our region clear signals that in reality they want to halt the 'killing machine,'" Patino writes. Michoacan, a fertile agricultural state along Mexico's Pacific Coast, has been the site of criminal turmoil since the middle of the last decade, when gangsters turned the state into a hub for production of methamphetamine, adding to their marijuana and cocaine smuggling business. Since February 2013, a vigilante campaign by armed civilians has spread across nearly a third of Michoacan. The vigilantes call themselves self-defense groups or community police, and they have won broad citizen support from nearly everyone, from large farm owners down to tortilla vendors and doormen at public restrooms. In barely 11 months, the vigilantes have occu- pied at least 15 town- ships. In each, they have disbanded municipal police and run off politi- cians believed linked to organized crime. On Monday, the country's interior secretary, Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, stepped in as the vigilante groups nearly encircled this city of 140,000, the center of the Knights Templar empire, for fear that an attempt to dislodge the gangsters would lead to a bloodbath. Osorio Chong an- nounced the deployment of more federal police and troops to Michoacan state to quell the vi- olence. He exhorted the vigilante groups to disarm. Since then, federal police have assumed security duties in 20 townships and rounded up 308 municipal police officers and moved them across the nation to the state of Tlaxcala for ostensible retraining. But for many priests, that was not enough. They echo vigilante demands that author- ities arrest three top cartel leaders. They also reject disarmament of the self-defense groups, saying it would lead gangsters to take vengeance. GULF COAST FINANCIAL GROUP The CD Locator, IRA/401k Rollover Specialists! 941-206-2505 Serving the Port Charlotte & Surrounding Areas S$20,000 minimum deposit All deposits insured and guaranteed Certain Restrictions apply Subject to availability Rates may change without notice Promotional incentive included to obtain yield Early withdrawal penalties apply Other rates available depending on deposit and length of term *) S NANEWSPAPERS Mid-Winter Open House & Collector Car Show Saturday, February 8, 2014 9 AM to 1 PM at the Charlotte Sun 23170 Harborview Road, Port Charlotte ADMISSION IS FREE! Tours of Sun Newspapers office and plant 10:00am Noon See how your AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER operates! Live Music from "Power Outage Continues" Guest Appearance by Las Vegas Performer Jimmy Mazz Enjoy the vehicles that represent transportation of YESTERYEAR, including antinle h alniasc Qnnrts Qnfoial intArAet mntnrnviA; and trlnks that will hae nn diinlav I II1 vIe t Is ope t ll iEU UIly I IUII -IIUUII IGU VIli l e tIEU LI IGI I IIUl I s In o LI ILeIUII ITee. Owners that will exhibit at the newspaper must pre-register with Veteran Motor Car Club of America 941-235-7701 or 941-575-0202 (For Registration Only) (For Information Only) 24+ Trophies to be awarded One Trophy is over 4' Tall! Space restrictions allow for a total of 100 entries Vehicles must be 23 years old Sun Newspapers 23170 Harborview Road Port Charlotte 06rWr o x^0 W ro!* &r SANAA, Yemen (AP)- Gunmen killed an Iranian diplomat in a drive-by shooting in Yemen's capital Saturday, security and medical officials said, the latest attack on Iran's diplomatic corps in the Middle East in recent months. Iranian state televi- sion announced that Ali Asghar Asadi, Iran's economic attache in Sanaa, was "martyred." The broadcast said Asadi was attacked while driving and suffered four gunshot wounds to the chest and stomach. It did not elaborate. Three Yemeni security officials said Asadi was leaving the Iranian ambassador's house in the city's southern Hadda neighborhood when assailants opened fire. They said he died in a hospital. A medical official confirmed the diplomat's death. Another Yemeni security official said the diplomat suffered three gunshot wounds to the chest and shoulder. The two accounts of the shooting could not be immediately reconciled, though conflicting information is common immediately after such attacks. The official said the initial investigation sug- gested the gunmen first attempted to kidnap the diplomat by stopping his car. When the diplomat resisted, the assailants shot him and fled the area, which is a busy commercial district, the official said. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to journalists. Relations between Iran and Yemen have soured over what Sanaa calls Iranian meddling in LINE TICKETS 14-Night Panama Canal & Air 1. ,269pp ADDED VALUE: h,:l.3, r 16-Night Transatlantic with London Now From 9 $142perday $29399PP ADDED VALUE: Includes 2-night hotel stpy in London AlwaIys a ell-jtli I 14-Night Exclusive Fully Escorted National Parks & Canyons Tour Denver to Las Vegas. 6/25/14 Was 59 f 3429 Now From $ *pp ADDED VALUE: Includes Welcome Reception, i ,p:r I V11 ,-. t : ,,, .I Thomas 'FR #%Quigley FREE B oard Certified EYE EXAM Eye Physician FOR NEW PATIENTS & Surgeon complete medical exam B with one of our board www.doctorquigley.com i certified eye doctors 2529 toMig TA I includes prescription for 2529 TAMIAMI TRAIL eyeglasses, and tests for PUNTA GORDA eyeglasses, an ests or 941-639-2020 cataracts, glaucoma and other eye diseases. 20600 VETERANS BLVD., SUITE A Offer applies to new PORT CHARLOTTE patients 59 years and older. 941-766-7474 Offer does not apply to Freedom and Optimum health planpartcipants 330 NORTH BREVARD Coupon Expires 114/2014 (NEXTTO FARM CREDIT), ARCADIA 863-993-2020 IgEye Health : vy'~~~ ---------__^_~e^u its domestic affairs. But Yemen's Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi quickly condemned Saturday's attack, calling it a "terrorist criminal act" that targeted bilateral relations. Al-Qirbi said the two countries want to avoid any attempts to harm relations. "This operation has targeted the Yemeni- Iranian relations before it targeted the diplomat," he told the state news agency SANA. He said authorities will pursue the culprits and bring them to justice. Another Iranian diplomat in Yemen was abducted by gunmen in July and remains in cap- tivity. Officials suspect al-Qaida militants to be behind that kidnapping. Negotiations to secure his release have so far failed. Al-Qaida's Yemen branch is the world's most active, using political turmoil in the impoverished Gulf country to strengthen its presence there. The government has been battling the militant groups, with assistance from the U.S., which has killed a number of suspected members in drone strikes. ...CRUISES LAND TOURS- A ......................... ....... ... 7-Night Western Caribbean U 15-Night Transatlantic Ii.:., A irii,..'J. p with Barcelona I ... 1"' 1 7 1 4 I I,:, I .,I,-,i i.i: n -,"i 4 14- SADDED VALUE: r-:: .:. .- l,099PP A D D A U :v ,, ,:r:,: ,:, ADDED VALUE : ,noPil 1 A AlII -,,-rl~ 1 -,I1L ,d ~ + I, -11- -,Hl' K l:r ,,.,l, lJ 14-Night Alaska Cruise Tour | IP 1'*ll .a l ':i.,,:.- =ir.3 -.l l,. rl I_ =ri. T..ii li.: ,,n n,::, ,'I -i I,:, F iit 'rI -". -' 1 4 I -.a >1,772p I S ADDED VALUE: Fill, -::.il.-.3 .j | --'''''''!! liJ': ~ .Y~ '.i. pu:ri:! S 13-Night Port Wine and N Flamenco River Cruise B Touring from Madrid I W to Lisbon. 10/25/14 Was $ 6446n S Now From $238 perday $ 3)99 PP ADDED VALUE:l I : l: U l : i- i - I j^^ Expedia7 EXCLUSIVE TRAVEL DEALS PRESENTATIONS BY EXPERTS PLAN & BOOK ON THE DAY S Up to $200 USD Onboard Cash * Complimentary Beverage Package * Up to $650 Savings in 2 Coupon Books * Low Deposit of just $100 PP * Military & Senior Discounts BRING THIS AD FOR YOUR FREE GIFT!!! The choice for all of your travel needs! Expedia CruiseShipCenters 812 Tamiam. Trail Port Charlotte FL 33953 -ruisem[p]cencers 1-800-721-2469 www portcharlotte cruiseshipcenters corn Restrictions apply Rates are per person and based on double occupancy, availability and include port tax Some taxes are additional Call for restriction details OPEN 7 DAYS AWEEK! w Iranian diplomat killed in Yemen 812 Tamiami Triml Ste. 3, Port Charlotte, FL lu 0I o The Sun/Sunday, January 19, 2014 www.sunnewspapers.net d- -wr,- -A lwc