In brief: Army kills militant linked to al-Qaida
A militant leader linked to al-Qaida and wanted in the beheading of a California tourist was killed in a jungle battle, the Philippine army announced Wednesday.
The military first reported that it had wounded Jainal Antel Sali Jr., also known as Abu Solaiman, on Tuesday in an Abu Sayyaf militant group hide-out on Jolo Island, about 600 miles south of Manila.
But Sali, also wanted in the kidnapping of two American missionaries, was later confirmed dead at a news conference in Manila.
Sali was on the FBI’s list of “Most Wanted Terrorists” and the State Department offered a reward of up to $5 million for his capture. He was indicted by a U.S. court in 2002 on charges including the murder of an American outside the U.S. and kidnapping resulting in death.
Guillermo Sobero, 40, of Corona, Calif., was beheaded after he was kidnapped along with American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham, of Wichita, Kan., and 17 Filipinos from a southern Philippines island resort in May 2001.
LONDON
Doomsday Clock moved toward end
The world is nudging closer to nuclear or environmental apocalypse, a group of prominent scientists warned Wednesday as it pushed the hand of its symbolic Doomsday Clock closer to midnight.
The clock, which was set two minutes forward to 11:55, represents the likelihood of a global cataclysm. Its ticks have given the clock’s keepers a chance to speak out on the dangers they see threatening Earth.
It was the fourth time since the Soviet collapse in 1991 that the clock ticked forward amid fears over what the scientists describe as “a second nuclear age” prompted largely by standoffs with Iran and North Korea. But urgent warnings of climate change also played a role.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which sets the clock, was founded in 1945 as a newsletter distributed among nuclear physicists, and midnight originally symbolized a widespread nuclear conflict.
Sacramento, Calif.
Death by water may be homicide
Homicide detectives are investigating the death of a woman believed to have been killed by drinking too much water in a radio station contest.
On a tape of the Jan. 12 show, disc jockeys on KDND-FM’s “Morning Rave” joke about the possible dangers of consuming too much water, at one point alluding to a college student who died during such a stunt in 2005. A listener called the show to warn the DJs that the stunt was dangerous and that someone could die.
“They signed releases, so we’re not responsible. We’re OK,” a DJ responded.
Jennifer Lea Strange, a 28-year-old mother of three, was one of about 18 contestants who tried to win a Nintendo Wii gaming console by determining how much water they could drink without going to the bathroom.