Man charged in UK soldier’s slaying

Man charged in UK soldier’s slaying

LONDON

Police have charged a man with murder in the killing of a British soldier in a suspected Islamic extremist attack in broad daylight on a London street.

Michael Adebowale, 22, was charged late Wednesday by counterterrorism officers and will appear in court today, police said. He is one of two main suspects in the killing of Lee Rigby, 25, who was struck by a car and stabbed to death last week near his barracks in southeast London’s Woolwich district.

Syria: Assad to remain president

BEIRUT

Syria’s foreign minister laid out a hard line Wednesday, saying Bashar Assad will remain president at least until elections in 2014 and might seek another term, conditions that will make it difficult for the opposition to agree to U.N.-sponsored talks on ending the civil war.

Any deal reached in such talks would have to be put to a referendum, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem added in a TV interview, introducing a new condition that could complicate efforts by the U.S. and Russia to bring both sides together at an international conference in Geneva, possibly next month.

The Syrian National Coalition reiterated that any negotiations require “the head of the regime, security and military leadership to step down and be excluded from the political process.”

Loaded gun found on ride at Disney World

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.

A Walt Disney World patron on a ride with her grandson found a loaded gun on her seat, officials said Wednesday.

Officials said that the woman found the pistol on the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom. The woman turned over the loaded weapon to a park attendant, who then contacted her manager and authorities.

The gun’s owner, Angelo Lista, told authorities he discovered his gun was missing several minutes after leaving the ride. He has a concealed-weapons permit.

Lista told authorities he didn’t know Disney World patrons weren’t allowed to bring guns.

Disney World prohibits patrons from bringing weapons of any kind on its property.

Police arrest man in stabbing of soldier

PARIS

DNA traces on an orange-juice bottle and a surveillance video of a man praying in a mall led to the arrest Wednesday of a young suspected Islamic extremist accused of stabbing a French soldier patrolling a crowded area just outside Paris, officials said.

The attack came days after a British soldier was slain on a London street in broad daylight, raising fears of potential copycat attacks.

The case also brought into question what authorities knew about the suspect, identified by police as Alexandre Dhaussy, because he had been tracked over several years.

RI governor to become Dem

NARRAGANSETT, R.I.

Independent Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee is joining the Democratic Party ahead of his 2014 bid for a second term, his spokeswoman said Wednesday, confirming a move that Chafee has been talking about for months as a way to better position himself for re-election.

Chafee would not immediately address his party switch when asked about it Wednesday after he exited a ferry from Block Island to the mainland, saying only that he would announce his decision at his local board of canvassers in Warwick this morning. But he did say his priorities haven’t changed.

Associated Press