World briefs for June 4

Law enforcement source: Knife-wielding man killed by terror task force discussed ‘beheadings’

BOSTON (AP) — A knife-wielding man killed by the terror investigators who had him under surveillance was confronted because he had purchased knives and talked of an imminent attack on “boys in blue,” the FBI said Wednesday.

Usaama Rahim plotted for at least a week to attack police, the FBI said in a complaint against David Wright, who was arrested the same day Rahim was shot to death. On Wednesday, Wright was ordered held on a charge of conspiracy with intent to obstruct a federal investigation.

The FBI said the two men bought three fighting knives and a sharpener on or before May 26, and that Rahim told Wright on Tuesday that he would begin trying to randomly kill police officers in Massachusetts.

Faced with an imminent threat, the anti-terror task force of FBI agents and Boston police confronted Rahim on a sidewalk and fatally shot him when he refused to drop his knife, authorities said.

Authorities moved swiftly Wednesday to manage perceptions of the shooting, which killed a black man whose family is well-known among Muslims and African-Americans in Boston.

In Texas, Clinton to urge states to expand early voting, speak out against voting restrictions

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton plans to call for an early voting period of at least 20 days in every state in an effort to expand access to voting across the nation.

The Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign said Wednesday she will be speaking out against voting restrictions in several states and backing a longer period of early voting across the nation.

The former secretary of state is set to address a historically black university in Houston, Texas Southern University, on Thursday.

Democrats have filed legal challenges to voting changes pushed by Republican lawmakers in the presidential battleground states of Ohio and Wisconsin. Clinton is expected to denounce similar efforts in North Carolina, Texas and Florida.

Clinton has criticized a 2013 Supreme Court ruling striking down a portion of the Voting Rights Act.

AP Interview: Top Yemen Shiite rebel commander welcomes UN peace talks, criticizes rivals

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The second-in-command of Yemen’s Shiite rebels said Wednesday that the Iranian-backed group was ready to go to Geneva for U.N.-mediated peace talks on ending the country’s civil war, and accused the internationally-recognized government in exile of “obstructing” dialogue.

Mohammed al-Houthi, who heads the rebels’ powerful Revolutionary Council, told The Associated Press that exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi had derailed earlier attempts at negotiations by demanding the rebels first withdraw from all territory they had captured.

“They are putting pre-conditions to obstruct any talks that could lead the Yemeni people to a solution,” al-Houthi said, adding that the Saudi-led coalition refused to halt its air campaign to allow for peace talks. “The coalition is the one that rejects the talks and works on foiling them.”

The talks were postponed last month just two days before they were to have begun on May 28 and no new date has been announced. However, Yemen’s ambassador to the U.N., Khaled Alyemany, told the AP they would begin June 14, and that an official announcement was expected shortly.

A presidential aide said late Tuesday that Hadi was willing to participate in the Geneva talks. The aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to brief reporters, did not mention any conditions.

Niagara Falls-bound bus carrying Italian tourists collides with truck, killing 3; many hurt

TOBYHANNA, Pa. (AP) — A charter bus taking Italian tourists to Niagara Falls collided with a tractor-trailer Wednesday morning on an eastern Pennsylvania highway, killing the bus driver and two others on the bus and leaving four people in critical condition, authorities said.

The crash occurred on Interstate 380 in the Pocono Mountain region as the bus, which departed from New York, was about a quarter of the way to its first destination.

The mangled front end of the bus was upright on the highway but wedged into the side of the tractor-trailer, which was sheared in half. The cab of the truck came to rest on its side in the woods next to the road, one of its axles torn off.

It appeared from a wide swath of grass scraped away in the median that the tractor-trailer was southbound when it crossed over the divided highway and into the path of the northbound bus. State police said a second tractor-trailer was involved but they were still investigating what led to the accident.

Monroe County coroner Robert Allen, who confirmed the three deaths, said there were 17 people aboard the bus. Italian tour operator Viaggidea said there were only 16: 14 passengers, a tour guide and a driver.

Greek prime minister defends bailout proposal, seeks to sway creditors at EU headquarters

BRUSSELS (AP) — Greece’s prime minister entered a showdown with creditors on Wednesday in Brussels, where each side would present proposals in the hope of reaching a deal to unlock bailout loans and save the country from financial disaster.

Some officials dampened expectations of a breakthrough Wednesday, even though Greece is running out of cash and faces debt repayments as soon as Friday.

But French President Francois Hollande said the talks were at least heading in the right direction: “We are some days, not to say some hours away from a possible agreement.”

Greece has been negotiating for four months with its creditors over what budget reforms it should make to get the 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) in loans that are left over in its bailout fund. Wednesday’s meetings are part of a string of high-level diplomatic efforts to bring the negotiations to a successful end.

Ahead of his meeting with Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker, Greek leader Alexis Tsipras stressed the need for compromise.