New year starts early in Samoa

New year starts early in Samoa

APIA, Samoa

The New Year’s Eve parties started a whole day early on the South Pacific island nation of Samoa, after a hop across the international date line transported the country 24 hours into the future — making it the first in the world to ring in the new year.

Samoans began celebrating under a rainbow of fireworks at the stroke of midnight Thursday, Dec. 29 — when the country skipped over Friday and moved straight into 12:01 a.m. Dec. 31.

Samoa and neighboring Tokelau lie near the date line that zigzags vertically through the Pacific Ocean, and both sets of islands decided to realign themselves this year from the Americas side of the line to the Asia side, to be more in tune with key trading partners.

Syrian protesters take to streets

BEIRUT

In the largest protests Syria has seen in months, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets Friday in a display of defiance to show an Arab League observer mission the strength of the opposition movement.

Despite the monitors’ presence in the country, activists said Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar Assad killed at least 22 people, most of them shot during the anti-government demonstrations.

In a further attempt to appeal to the monitors, dissident troops who have broken away from the Syrian army said they have halted attacks on regime forces to reinforce the activists’ contention that the uprising against Assad is a peaceful movement.

Synthetic-pot use is concern in military

SAN DIEGO

U.S. troops are increasingly using an easy-to-get herbal mix called “Spice,” which mimics a marijuana high and can bring on hallucinations that last for days.

The abuse of the drug has so alarmed military officials that they’ve launched an aggressive testing program that this year has led to the investigation of more than 1,100 suspected users, according to military figures.

So-called “synthetic” pot is readily available on the Internet and has become popular nationwide in recent years, but its use among troops and sailors has raised concerns among the Pentagon brass.

2 NATO troops die in Afghanistan

KABUL

Two NATO service members died Friday in roadside bombings in southern Afghanistan, while allied and Afghan forces killed three senior Taliban figures and captured 11 fighters and sympathizers, the alliance said.

Also Friday, a roadside bomb killed four civilians and wounded one in the Tirin Kot district of Uruzgan province, some 250 miles southwest of Kabul, the Interior Ministry said.

Foul play suspected in tot’s vanishing

PORTLAND, Maine

Police investigating the disappearance of a toddler from her father’s central Maine home two weeks ago said Friday they believe foul play was involved, but investigators tried to remain optimistic even as the job of law-enforcement officials becomes more difficult with each passing day.

Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey announced Friday night that the case “has evolved from the search for a missing child to a criminal investigation.”

In a statement, the chief said the conclusion was based on evidence that has been gathered over the past two weeks, but he didn’t elaborate. He said state police would take the lead on the investigation into the disappearance of 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds.

Associated Press