Man arrested in serial stranglings

Man arrested in serial stranglings

PHILADELPHIA

A man recently released from prison and believed to have been wandering the streets and staying in abandoned homes was arrested Monday night after being linked by DNA to the sexual assaults and strangling deaths of three women in a gritty, high-crime section of the city, police said.

Antonio Rodriguez, 21, was taken into custody on an unrelated bench warrant after someone phoned in a tip, police said. The arrest came shortly after a news conference at which Capt. James Clark said Rodriguez was being sought as a “strong” person of interest in the murders in the Kensington section, a few miles north of downtown.

UN agency falling short in hunger fight

RAMALLAH, West Bank

The World Food Programme is nearly $3 billion short this year in its fight against global hunger, and the gap is likely to grow if food prices keep rising, the head of the U.N. agency said in an interview Monday.

Josette Sheeran said the shortfall amounts to almost half of what the agency needs.

‘Baby Doc’ adds twist to Haiti’s woes

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti

Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier ensconced himself Monday in a high-end hotel after his surprise return to a country deep in crisis, leaving many to wonder if the once-feared strongman will prompt renewed conflict in the midst of a political stalemate. Duvalier met with allies inside the hotel in the hills above downtown Port-au-Prince and spoke publicly only through emissaries, who gave vague explanations for his sudden and mysterious appearance — nearly 25 years after he was forced into exile by a popular uprising against his brutal regime.

Israeli defense chief defects from party

JERUSALEM

In a shocking move that instantly shook up Israel’s political scene, Defense Minister Ehud Barak defected from his Labor Party on Monday, leaving in shambles the iconic movement that founded the country and ruled it invincibly for decades.

The move appeared to shore up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition by leading to the resignation of the other Labor members, who had been at loggerheads with the government over stalled peacemaking efforts.

Palin explains ‘blood libel’ remark

WASHINGTON

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, defending herself against criticism after the Tucson, Ariz., shootings, said Monday that she used the term “blood libel” to describe comments made by those who falsely tried to link conservatives to the assassination attempt against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Speaking out for the first time since she used the term in a video, Palin said on Fox’s Sean Hannity show that the term referred to those “falsely accused of having blood on their hands.”

Some Jewish groups strongly protested her use of the term, which historically was used to accuse Jews of using blood of Christians in religious rituals.

Arab protesters set selves on fire

CAIRO

Protesters set themselves on fire in Egypt, Mauritania and Algeria on Monday in apparent copycat self- immolation attempts inspired by the act that helped trigger a popular uprising in Tunisia.

The incidents, though isolated, reflect the growing despair among the public of many Arab regimes resisting reform. They are deeply symbolic means of protest in a region that has little or no tolerance for dissent.

Associated Press