Rice sounds a hopeful note in Mideast speech on peace
Jerusalem – Political change across the Middle East, including a perceptible backlash against terrorism, has opened a window of opportunity to end the decades-old disputes between Israel and the Palestinians, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an address Sunday.
In comments to a prestigious gathering of a group that included much of Israel’s current political leadership, members of the U.S. Congress and former Secretary of State James Baker, Rice spoke of a region that has begun to move in the direction of greater political pluralism.
“This is a profound change, and there are others,” she said. “We have hope for peace today because people no longer accept that despotism is the eternal political condition of the Middle East.”
Rice argued that Israeli’s recent withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the acceptance in Israel that an independent, peaceful Palestinian state was essential to Israeli security also created an opportunity for peace. But she also set out conditions for both sides if the long-elusive goal were to be achieved.
“Now, if Palestinians fight terrorism and lawless violence and advance democratic reforms, and if Israel takes no actions to prejudice a final settlement and works to improve the daily lives of Palestinian people, the possibilities of peace is both hopeful and realistic,” she said.
LITITZ, Pa.
Girl’s parents slain; boyfriend, 18, sought
A 14-year-old girl was missing after her parents were shot to death in their home Sunday morning, and authorities were searching for her 18-year-old boyfriend, who reportedly abducted her at gunpoint.
Michael and Cathryn Borden, both 50, were found dead shortly after 8 a.m., police said.
The couple’s 9-year-old son David, the youngest of five children, had fled to a neighbor’s house and called 911. An older daughter still living at home and two adult sons also were safe.
But Kara Beth Borden, 14, was missing from the family home in Warwick Township, about 60 miles west of Philadelphia, and reportedly was abducted at gunpoint by David G. Ludwig.
DALLAS
Officer shot to death while chasing suspect
A newlywed police officer was killed early Sunday by a suspect he was chasing on foot.
Officer Brian Jackson and another officer went to investigate a disturbance complaint and chased a male suspect through alleys and between houses, Police Chief David Kunkle said.
During the chase, the man fired at the officers, fatally wounding Jackson. The suspect, Juan Lizcano, 28, was charged with one count of capital murder and was in police custody.
Jackson, 28, had been married for two months.
RED LODGE, Mont.
CO leak sickens dozens at banquet
A carbon monoxide leak at a resort sickened dozens of people attending a banquet celebrating the 230th anniversary of the Marine Corps, sending 42 to hospitals, authorities said Sunday.
No one suffered major illness, officials said. About 200 people were attending the banquet.
Authorities found a carbon monoxide leak in the basement boilers at the Rock Creek Resort, in south-central Montana.
ACAPULCO, Mexico
Flung grenade injures two at police post
Two men in a moving car lobbed a grenade at a police post in this Pacific resort city Sunday, injuring two officers.
The attack was the latest in a string of violence against police in Acapulco this year. Grenade attacks and a series of shootings have killed at least eight officers and wounded six others.
The Tres Vidas police post is in the city’s Diamante beach section, an upscale tourist district. Peasants have claimed land in the area was stolen from them.
ALMATY, Kazakhstan
Presidential critic killed in his home
An outspoken critic of President Nursultan Nazarbayev was found shot to death in his home, his family’s lawyer said Sunday.
Zamanbek Nurkadilov was found lying facedown by his wife Saturday night, shot twice in the heart and once in the head, said the family lawyer, Serially Musin.
Nurkadilov, 61, fired as emergency situations minister last year after criticizing Nazarbayev, was supporting the opposition candidate in next month’s presidential elections in this former Soviet Central Asian nation.
Police Chief Moldir Orazalin ruled out any political connection in the death.
“We do not consider such a theory,” he told reporters.
