Police end protest at Istanbul park

Police end protest at Istanbul park

ISTANBUL

Turkish riot police firing tear gas and water cannon took less than half an hour Saturday to bring to an end an 18-day occupation of an Istanbul park at the center of the strongest challenge to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 10-year tenure.

The protests, which began as an environmental sit-in to prevent a development project at Taksim Square’s Gezi Park, quickly spread to dozens of cities and spiraled into a broader expression of discontent about what many say is Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian decision-making.

He vehemently denies the charge, pointing to his strong support base that allowed him to win his third- consecutive term with 50 percent of the vote in 2011.

Officials: Program thwarted plots

WASHINGTON

Top U.S. intelligence officials said Saturday that information gleaned from two controversial data- collection programs run by the National Security Agency thwarted potential terrorist plots in the U.S. and more than 20 other countries — and that gathered data is destroyed every five years.

Last year, fewer than 300 phone numbers were checked against the database of millions of U.S. phone records gathered daily by the NSA in one of the programs, the intelligence officials said in arguing that the programs are far less sweeping than their detractors allege.

Scout leaders chided over parade march

SALT LAKE CITY

Two Boy Scout leaders have been reprimanded by the organization for marching with several Scouts in the Utah Pride Parade in Salt Lake City.

Officials from the Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America say Peter Brownstein and Neil Whitaker violated the organization’s policy prohibiting the use of Scouting to promote a political agenda. They had been warned that they would violate the policy if they wore their Scout uniforms in the June 2 parade.

N. Korea proposes nuke talks with US

PYONGYANG, North Korea

North Korea’s top government body is proposing high-level nuclear and security talks with the United States days after a planned meeting with rival South Korea collapsed.

The National Defense Commission said today that the talks should ease tensions and achieve peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea has issued a series of angry statements since U.N. sanctions were imposed after a December rocket launch and a February nuclear test.

New finding in study of Gulf War illness

LOS ANGELES

Using brain scans and exercise stress tests, researchers have identified two biologically distinct subgroups of veterans suffering from “Gulf War illness.”

Their bodies reacted differently to physical exertion, and their brains had atrophied in different regions. None of the patterns was seen in a control group of healthy subjects.

The findings, published online Friday in the journal PLOS One, are part of a growing body of work that the authors said eventually could lead to biological markers for the mysterious condition, which is still defined by its hodgepodge of symptoms.

After the 1991 Gulf War, veterans began complaining of various problems, including pain, fatigue, headaches and cognitive impairment. The symptoms ranged from mild to debilitating.

Up to 30 percent of the 700,000 troops who served in the war are thought to be affected.

Combined dispatches