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September 23, 2012

In Brief

Anonymous The Eagle-Tribune The Eagle Tribune Sun Sep 23, 2012, 12:05 AM EDT

Former CIA operative Edwin Wilson dies

SEATTLE — Edwin Wilson set up front companies abroad for the CIA, made millions in the arms trade and entertained generals and congressmen at his sprawling Virginia farm. His high-powered, jet-setting life in the 1970s and early 1980s followed a career in the CIA. But it came crashing down when he was branded a traitor and convicted in 1983 for shipping 20 tons of C-4 plastic explosive to Libya. After two decades in prison, Wilson finally got the conviction overturned, convincing a judge that he had continued to work informally for the agency.

The man who once posed as a rich American businessman abroad spent his final years living with his brother near Seattle. Wilson died Sept. 10 from complications from a heart valve replacement surgery, said Craig Emmick, a director at Columbia Funeral Home in Seattle. He was 84.

Houston officer kills double amputee

HOUSTON — A Houston police officer shot and killed a one-armed, one-legged man in a wheelchair yesterday inside a group home after police say the double amputee threatened the officer and aggressively waved a metal object that turned out to be a pen.

Police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said the man cornered the officer in his wheelchair and was making threats while trying to stab the officer with the pen. At the time, the officer did not know what the metal object was that the man was waving, Silva said. Silva identified the officer as Matthew Jacob Marin, a five-year veteran of the department.

Zimbabwe residents synchronize flush

HARARE, Zimbabwe — City authorities in Zimbabwe’s second largest city said yesterday they were appealing to home owners to flush their toilets at a specified time as a way to unblock sewers after days of severe water rationing.

Bulawayo City Council has asked its more than 1 million residents to flush their toilets simultaneously at 7:30 p.m. when water supplies are restored. City officials say “synchronized flushing” is needed to clear waste that would have accumulated in sanitary facilities which will have been affected by days of water outages. Synchronized flushing was first introduced to Bulawayo two decades ago at the height of a drought that ravaged the southern African nation.

Facebook party turns to riot in Netherlands

AMSTERDAM — Thousands of revelers descended on a small Dutch town sparking a riot after a party invitation posted on Facebook went viral, authorities said Saturday.

Prosecutor Hessel Schuth said 34 people were arrested were arrested Friday night and in the early hours of yesterday morning and would be prosecuted for public order offenses. Several people were injured, but none were believed to be seriously hurt. The event was in Haren, 185 kilometers (115 miles) north of Amsterdam. “Dutch media reported that the party originally was planned as a small celebration by a 16-year-old girl but her invitation went viral when she posted it on Facebook.

—Associated Press

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