World/Nation Briefs January 4, 2012

Iran ends naval maneuvers, still saber-rattling

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Iran closed out naval war games in the Gulf on Tuesday much the way they began last month: striking a tone of military defiance while Western powers rallied behind tougher oil and financial sanctions as a crippling tool against Tehran's nuclear program.

The standoff atmosphere - less than a week after Iran warned it could block one of the world's key oil tanker sea lanes in response to economic pressures - appeared to deepen further with an Iranian general suggesting a U.S. aircraft carrier is not welcome to return to the Gulf.

In Paris, meanwhile, France's foreign minister said there is "no doubt" that Iran is moving toward a nuclear weapon and urged Europe to match America's tighter sanctions set in motion last week. Alain Juppe said the measures could include targeting Iran's Central Bank and imposing an Iranian oil embargo.

A Western snub of one of OPEC's heavyweight exporters would still leave Iran with many oil-hungry markets such as China and India - and give Tehran crucial economic lifelines to resist the U.S. and its allies. But worries that Gulf tensions could disrupt supplies sent oil above $101 a barrel and piled more pressure on Iran's currency, the rial, which hit record lows against the dollar earlier this week.

"It's clear the economy is in dire straits and the sanctions are having an impact no matter what Iranian officials say," said Salman Shaikh, director of The Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. "Hitting the oil sectors may push the economy down even further, but that doesn't mean Iran will bend to the West."

Man found dead outside street alcoholic center

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A man who was slurring his speech and appeared intoxicated was found dead on New Year's Day at a controversial center in Anchorage where chronic street alcoholics are allowed to keep drinking.

The center has been under fire for its unconventional approach to dealing with alcoholism in Anchorage, where advocates have been looking for new ways to help homeless alcoholics after more than 20 people - most of them severely intoxicated - died outdoors over a 12-month period in 2009 and 2010.

Employees checked on 54-year-old John Kort several times Sunday after a visitor noticed that he appeared drunk and was having trouble walking. Kort was escorted to his room where a manor employee lay him down on the bed and rolled him onto his side. When he was checked 40 minutes later, Kort was sitting on the floor with his head against the bed. He again was placed on his bed and on his side.

When an employee checked on him a third time, Kort was face-down on his bed, not breathing and his hands were cold, said Anchorage police spokesman Dave Parker. Police and paramedics could not revive him.

Parker said there was no suicide note. Alcohol and perhaps pills are believed to be factors in his death. An empty prescription pill bottle was found in his room.

Man arrested for firebomb attack at Islamic center

NEW YORK - A man who confessed to a string of New Year's Day arson attacks at an Islamic cultural center and four other sites where he had personal grievances was arrested on a hate crime charge, police said.

Ray Lazier Lengend, a 40-year-old of Guyanese descent, hurled crude firebombs at the Islamic center in part because he wasn't allowed to use its bathrooms, a law enforcement official said.

Lengend was tracked through a stolen car with Virginia license plates believed to be at the scene of at least two of the attacks Sunday evening on a convenience store, three homes and the cultural center, police said. He was arrested Tuesday on charges including one count of arson as a hate crime, four counts of arson and five counts of criminal possession of a weapon, they said.

Lengend, who lives in Queens, was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric examination Tuesday night. He remained in custody and couldn't be reached for comment. A man who answered a telephone call at Lengend's home said he would not give out any information over the phone and hung up. There was no information on whether Lengend had a lawyer.

- The Associated Press