World/Nation Briefs December 28, 2011
Kim keeps world guessing in
death as in life
SEOUL, South Korea - Late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il kept the world guessing in death as in life, with state media keeping quiet about the timing and details of his funeral today.
Kim, who led the nation with an iron fist following his father Kim Il Sung's death in 1994, died of a heart attack Dec. 17 at age 69, according to state media. He is to be succeeded by his young son Kim Jong Un, already being hailed as the "supreme leader" of the party, state and army.
After more than a week of mourning, a funeral was set for today and a memorial service for Thursday. Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency said the funeral began at 10 a.m., but provided no further details.
Dems scramble
after Nebraska senator retires
LINCOLN, Neb. - Democrats on Tuesday lamented Sen. Ben Nelson's decision to retire rather than seek a third term in Nebraska, fearing the move sets up Republicans for an easy and crucial victory in their effort to reclaim control of the chamber next year.
Nelson, the lone Democrat in Nebraska's five-member congressional delegation, faced a tough re-election campaign against a large group of Republican challengers who have spent the past several months attacking his support for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and federal stimulus legislation.
Republicans must net four seats to take back the Senate in 2012, and Nebraska looks to be an easy pickup. There are no Democrats in line to take Nelson's place in the increasingly conservative state. He joins several other Democrats to retire from the Senate, including Virginia's Jim Webb and North Dakota's Kent Conrad.
Mass protests in Syrian city after tanks pull out
BEIRUT - Tens of thousands of defiant Syrian protesters thronged the streets of Homs Tuesday, calling for the execution of President Bashar Assad shortly after his army pulled its tanks back and allowed Arab League monitors in for the first time to the city at the heart of the anti-government uprising.
The pullback was the first sign the regime was complying with the League's plan to end the 9-month-old crackdown on mostly unarmed and peaceful protesters.
Yet amateur video released by activists showed forces firing on protesters even while the monitors were inside the city. One of the observers walked with an elderly man who pointed with his cane to a fresh pool of blood on the street that he said had been shed by his son, killed a day earlier.
U.S. officials weigh Yemen leader decision
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is weighing an unprecedented diplomatic act - whether to bar a friendly president from U.S. soil.
American officials were evaluating on Tuesday an awkward request from Yemeni strongman and longtime U.S. counterterrorism partner Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh has said he plans to come to the United States for medical treatment for injuries suffered in a June assassination attempt, and he has asked for a U.S. visa for entry to the country. Fearful of appearing to harbor an autocrat with blood on his hands, the Obama administration was trying to ensure that Saleh visits only for medical care and doesn't plan to stay, U.S. officials said.
- Associated Press