The Wolves are ready for the Vikings of Tarboro. Photo by Ron McCann
Lincolnton: The Lincolnton High School Wolves met at the The City Lunch diner on Thursday afternoon for hot dogs and burgers following their victory over Thomasville last Friday night in the NC 2A West title game.
The Wolves will travel to Carter Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday morning to play the Tarboro Vikings in the NC 2A State Championship game at 11:00am.
Two years ago this week, American contractor Alan Gross was arrested in Cuba on charges of bringing communications equipment into the country illegally. Judy Gross says the U.S. government could be doing more to gain her husband's release, and she wants the United States and Cuba to "work something out."
Since his arrest in December 2009, Alan Gross has been tried in a Cuban court, convicted of crimes against the communist state and sentenced to 15 years in prison. In August, an appeal to Cuba's Supreme Court was denied, and U.S. officials such as former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson have been unable to secure his release.
Gross had been working for a private firm that says he was taking part in a U.S. government-financed program to strengthen civil society in Cuba. The Havana government says he illegally distributed satellite equipment to dissident groups and that he is a spy, a charge the United States denies. The company says he was working for the U.S. Agency for International Development's Cuba democracy program, bringing Internet access to Cuba's Jewish community.
Gross's wife, Judy, says all he wanted to do was help the island's three main Jewish communities.
"What's weird is that he came in with cell phones and laptops and everything was checked out by Cuban customs. He has receipts for the equipment, so then to say he was arrested for bringing in this equipment is ludicrous," she said.
Gross's family is seeking his release on humanitarian grounds, saying that his health has suffered and that his mother and daughter are suffering from cancer.
Judy Gross recently visited her husband at a Cuban prison. She says he has lost weight, suffers from arthritis and gout, and that he is depressed and angry.
"I found him the worst I've seen him. You have to know Alan. He's this jovial, joking, gregarious kind of person that everybody gravitates to. I couldn't get him to smile," she said.
Judy Gross says she wants President Barack Obama to intervene personally in her husband's case. "I don't know that much about diplomacy. I don't see what would stop him from picking up the phone and trying to talk to [Cuban] President [Raul] Castro. He might not get anywhere, but it would be a good effort," she said.
U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner says the United States raises Alan Gross's case with Cuba's government at every opportunity. "He's been held far too long and we call for his immediate release on humanitarian grounds, and we continue to make that point to Cuban authorities," he said.
Alan Gross's case has further strained relations between the United States and Cuba, which do not maintain formal diplomatic ties. A decades-old U.S. embargo on Cuba remains in effect, and President Obama says it will stay in place until Havana takes steps toward democratic reforms.
The White House on Thursday welcomed new steps by the European Union to tighten sanctions on Iran and Syria.
The latest steps by the EU expand the list of members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps banned from doing business with EU countries, or receiving visas to travel there.
They stop short of any decision to halt oil purchases from Iran to further increase pressure over Tehran's nuclear program or its policies in the region, despite expectations that this week's mob attack on Britain's embassy in Iran would prompt stronger steps.
The White House issued a statement welcoming the EU action, as well as new steps against 12 officials and 11 entities in Syria, where the United Nations says more than 4,000 people have died in government crackdowns on protesters.
"We welcome today's announcement by the European Union of new economic sanctions and other measures against both Iran and Syria. The United States recently increased our own sanctions on Iran, and today announced additional actions against Syrian officials and entities," said Press Secretary Jay Carney.
The wording of Thursday's statement was notable in that it reflects the Obama administration approach of more frequently coupling Iranian actions with the situation in Syria.
It spoke of a commitment to work together on "shared challenges" and coordination to increrase pressure on Iran and Syria to "ensure that their flagrant violations of international norms comes to an end."
The U.S. has said President Bashar al-Assad has "lost legitimacy" and should end all government-sanctioned violence against demonstrators and help pave the way for a democratic transition for the Syrian people.
Carney was asked by one reporter if a key objective of Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Turkey was to ask for more help from the government in Ankara on Iran.
The president's spokesman had no immediate response on that, but repeated a largely unchanged U.S. statement about Washington's overall positive assessment of international cooperation aimed at pressuring Tehran.
"Broadly on Iran, we have been very focused on and pleased by the international consensus that has been developed over these several years to sanction Iran, to pressure and isolate Iran, and that continues today," Carney said.
During a U.S. Senate hearing Thursday, the Obama administration came under additional pressure from lawmakers who believe the U.S. needs to take stronger steps against Iran.
Treasury and State Department officials told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the administration is committed to putting "sustained pressure" on Iran, but multilateral measures need to be a priority now.
David Cohen, Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said a bipartisan amendment to ban U.S. companies from doing business with any foreign financial institution connected with Iran's central bank could harm international coordination aimed at stepping up pressure on Tehran.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has offered Burma's military-backed government incentives to expand recent reforms, saying economic sanctions would not be lifted until certain policies are reversed. People in Burma are welcoming Clinton and efforts to push for change in their country.
Video footage: Clinton arrival in Burma
<!--AV--> The secretary of state met with leaders of Burma's military-backed government, including the parliament and President Thein Sein.
Speaking after the meetings in the remote capital Naypidaw, Clinton said the Burmese president promised to build on recent reform efforts that she called the first steps on a long-awaited opening.
"I made it clear that he [President Thein Sein], and those who support that vision which he laid out for me, both inside and outside of government, will have our support as they continue to make progress, and that the United States is willing to match actions with actions."
Hillary Clinton on Burma:
Since taking office in March, Sein's government relaxed media controls, passed laws that allow labor unions and the right to protest, released 200 political prisoners, and held direct talks with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
But rights groups say hundreds of people remain in jail for criticizing the government and joining pro-democracy demonstrations. Many worry the moves may not go much further or may be the military-backed government's negotiating tactic to get economic sanctions lifted.
Washington and the European Union have trade restrictions against Burma because of rights abuses and the suppression of pro-democracy movements.
Burma officials blame the sanctions for crippling the once vibrant economy and want them lifted, but Secretary Clinton said U.S. restrictions on trade would remain for now.
"We are not at the point yet that we can consider lifting sanctions that we have in place, because of our ongoing concerns about policies that have to be reversed. But any steps that the government takes will be carefully considered and will be, as I said, matched, because we want to see political and economic reform take hold, and I told the leadership that we will certainly consider the easing and elimination of sanctions as we go forward in this process together," said Clinton.
Clinton said she invited Burma to observe a regional U.S.-led group called the Lower Mekong Initiative. She said the United States would also support more international development and poverty relief efforts.
Clinton also welcomed Burma's stated intention to sever all military ties with North Korea, which has sold missiles to Burma.
In the former capital, Rangoon, businessman Ko Tin Aung Kyaw, 48, said the Burmese people warmly welcome Secretary Clinton's visit.
He said he wants Clinton to push Burma to become a true democratic country and for all political prisoners to be released.
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Clinton's visit is the first by the top U.S. diplomat since a 1962 military coup. The army has dominated the country ever since, brutally suppressing democracy uprisings as recently as 2007.
Clinton met late Thursday with Suu Kyi in Rangoon and will meet the National League for Democracy leader again Friday, along with representatives of ethnic minority groups.
NIAS SELATAN, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- At least five people were killed on Thursday when a rain-triggered landslide hit a village on an island off Indonesia's Sumatra, officials said. Several others remain missing.
Heavy rains have hit South Nias Regency on the popular surfing island of Nias, located about 120 kilometers (74 miles) off the western coast of Sumatra, for three consecutive days. It has caused a number of landslides in the area.
In Majo Kampung Marije, a landslide buried dozens of houses and vehicles, emergency services said. Members of neighboring villages rushed to the scene and pulled out five dead bodies, but at least two others are still believed to be missing.
South Nias Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) chief Arototona Mendeva confirmed at least five people had been killed. He said limited communication links and difficult access to the area, as well as flooded roads and bridges, have hampered relief efforts.
In total, at least 37 houses, 25 motorcycles and four vehicles are believed to have been buried in the landslide. Mendeva said a search and rescue team is en-route to the area to assist local emergency services and volunteers.
The island of Nias was one of the most affected areas of Indonesia when an enormous 9.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of Sumatra, unleashing a giant tsunami which killed over 240,000 people in fourteen different countries. At least 122 people were killed in Nias and hundreds more were left homeless.
Just three months later, on March 28, 2005, at least 800 people were killed on Nias when a massive 8.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of northern Sumatra. Some reports said as many as 2,000 people may have died on the island as a result of the 2005 earthquake.
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