World in brief: Young Americans held in Pakistan
Washington – Five young students who recently vanished from the Washington, D.C., area have been arrested in Pakistan, authorities confirmed Wednesday, raising fears they are part of a recent wave of U.S.-based Muslims traveling to South Asia and other extremist hotspots to engage in terrorist activities.
Authorities did not release the names of those arrested but said they were all American male citizens around the age of 20. One of them left behind a video, which showed American casualties. In the video he stated Muslims needed to stand up and fight to defend their fellow Muslims, according to sources familiar with the case.
In Islamabad, Pakistan, today, police officials said Pakistani intelligence agents were interrogating the five Americans. They said the men were cooperating after first giving conflicting statements.
In recent months, authorities have arrested or charged nearly a dozen other Americans or U.S.-based foreign nationals in connection with their alleged efforts either to go to Pakistan or Somalia for terrorist training or to recruit and finance the efforts of others to do so. They have portrayed it as an alarming trend that has prompted the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to go on heightened alert.
Zelaya plans move to Mexico
Tegucigalpa, Honduras – Manuel Zelaya, the deposed president of Honduras, is negotiating plans to leave the Brazilian Embassy in the Honduran capital where he took refuge 2 1/2 months ago and head to Mexico, an associate said late Wednesday.
The de facto Honduran government, which has threatened to arrest Zelaya, issued a safe-passage document to allow him to leave the country, said Victor Meza, who served as Zelaya’s interior minister.
But the plans still could go awry. Zelaya refuses to seek the political asylum that would allow him to traverse the country safely, Meza said. He wants to travel as the legitimate president of Honduras, which the de facto government will not allow.
“There is still nothing certain,” Zelaya said in an interview with CNN’s Spanish-language service.
N. Korea admits H1N1 outbreak
Seoul, South Korea – North Korea on Wednesday took the unusual step of acknowledging that it had suffered an outbreak of H1N1 flu, with foreign aid officials saying the virus has killed dozens of people.
The Public Health Ministry confirmed an outbreak in Sinuiju, a city on the Chinese border, and a second in Pyongyang, the capital, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. But North Korea has acknowledged only nine deaths.
“The relevant (agency) is further perfecting the quarantine system against the spread of this flu virus while properly carrying on the prevention and medical treatment,” the agency said.
The report came one day after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak ordered health officials in Seoul to verify reports of the outbreak, investigate ways to help North Korea and to prepare flu medication and humanitarian aid.