Police Found Explosive at Palestinian Embassy

Czech investigators have discovered explosives at the Palestinian embassy complex in Prague where a possibly booby-trapped safe killed the ambassador on Jan. 1, police said Thursday.

Police discovered 12 illegal weapons following the explosion at the embassy that killed Ambassador Jamal al-Jamal.

It remains unclear what caused the safe to explode but the ambassador’s death is being investigated as a case of negligence. Al-Jamal had only started his posting in October.

Police spokesman Tomas Hulan said they have sent the explosives for testing at Prague’s Institute of Criminology.

Police said Thursday they received a letter from the Palestinian authorities saying the weapons were given to them as gifts by the officials of the former communist Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia was part of the Soviet bloc that had warm ties with the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

According to police, the Palestinians said the weapons were never used and always kept in a safe.

Syrian refugee girl to marry to pay the rent

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Over one million Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon, but not all are eligible for aid.

Refugees who are not registered with the United Nations have been forced to take desperate measures to survive.

Fourteen-year-old Hanifa has agreed to marry a 44-year-old Lebanese landlord. Her family can not afford to pay their monthly rent, so the owner of the house has demanded Hanifa become his second wife.

Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees from Syria and aid agencies are calling the Syrian refugee crisis a humanitarian tragedy.

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reports from northeastern Lebanon.

Egyptians vote on new constitution after years of violence, turmoil

egypt-referendum

 

For the second time in 13 months, Egyptians are trying to chart their country’s future by voting on another draft constitution.

This time, the proposed constitution would ban religious parties and put more power in the hands of the military. If the draft is passed, elections should follow.

Shortly before polls were set to open at 9 a.m. (2 a.m. ET) Tuesday, a bomb exploded near a Cairo courtroom. No one was injured, security officials said.

But the blast was powerful enough to damage much of the towering facade of the courthouse. The courthouse will be used for collating results, but not fr counting ballots, Giza Gov. Ali Abdel Rahman said.

Despite the attack, Egyptians waited in long lines to cast their ballots Tuesday.

 

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Libyan government minister shot dead in Gadhafi hometown

A Libyan minister was shot dead in the first assassination of a transitional government official since dictator Moammar Gadhafi was ousted from power nearly three years ago.

Gunmen driving a car opened fire on Deputy Industry Minister Hassan al-Darouei, killing him instantly while he was visiting his hometown of Sirte, a Libyan defense ministry official said.

The official blamed Islamist militants who have been trying to extend their influence in Sirte.

The unknown men fired on the minister near a market on Saturday evening in the Mediterranean city some 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of the coastal capital Tripoli.

State news agency LANA said al-Darouei was shot several times.

Police Disperse Protesters in Egypt

Եգիպտոս, ոստիկանություն, հանրաքվե,ցուցարարներ

Ahead Vote

Officials in Egypt say police have fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Islamists rallying in Cairo and other cities against an upcoming constitutional referendum.

Friday has traditionally been a day of protests for the supporters of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi since he was toppled in a July 3 popularly backed military coup. Islamist supporters of Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood organization also now call for a boycott of the Jan. 14-15 referendum.

One official says protesters in the eastern Cairo district of Nasr City hurled stones and empty bottles at security forces.

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Iraqi Kurds Announce Start of Crude Flow to Turkey

The authorities in Iraq’s self-ruled northern Kurdish region say they’ve unilaterally started exporting crude oil through Turkey despite objections by the central government in Baghdad.

The Kurds’ regional Natural Resources Ministry said in a statement late Wednesday that pumping started in early January.

The oil is being shipped north through a newly constructed pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, bypassing Baghdad.

The Kurdish ministry has invited companies to participate in a January tender for the 2 million barrels already deposited in Ceyhan. It anticipates an increase in exports to 4 million barrels in February and 6 million barrels in March, with the goal of 10-12 million barrels in December.

Death Toll in Latest Egypt Clashes Rises to 17

 Եգիպտոս, բախումներ

An Egyptian security official says the death toll from clashes between Islamist protesters and security forces the day before has risen to 17.

The official reported the new toll on Saturday.

Friday’s protests gripped Cairo and other heavily populated cities and provinces such as Alexandria, Ismailia, Fayoum and Minya.

They were the most violent in months, coming less than two weeks ahead of a key referendum on an amended constitution.

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Israel releases 26 Palestinian prisoners

palestinian-prisoners

 

Israel released 26 Palestinian prisoners Monday in a gesture of goodwill between the two sides, days before a visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

The release was a step aimed at “resuming the diplomatic process,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Saturday announcing the move.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas greeted 18 of the freed prisoners in Ramallah, West Bank.

Kerry travels to Jerusalem and Ramallah on Wednesday in his ongoing attempt to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

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Egypt arrests 3 Al Jazeera journalists

Եգիպտոս,Ալ Ջազիրա, լրագրող

 

Egyptian security forces have arrested three Al Jazeera journalists, with the government saying at least one of them met with members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Correspondent Peter Greste, Bureau Chief Mohamed Fahmy and cameraman Mohamed Fawzy were taken into custody Sunday evening in Cairo, the network said.

The Egyptian Interior Ministry said on its Facebook page that security forces arrested a Muslim Brotherhood member and an Australian journalist at a Cairo hotel. Greste, an Australian, previously worked for CNN, Reuters and the BBC.

The ministry said the Muslim Brotherhood member used the hotel to meet with other members and as a media center to broadcast damaging news about the government for Al Jazeera.

The network demanded the journalists be released.

 

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Bomb Attacks on Christians in Baghdad Kill 37

Militants in Iraq targeted Christians in two separate bomb attacks in Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least 37 people, officials said.

In one attack, a car bomb went off near a church during Christmas Mass in the capital’s southern Dora neighborhood, killing at least 26 people and wounding 38, a police officer said.

A little bit earlier, a bomb ripped through an outdoor market in the nearby Christian section of Athorien, killing 11 people and wounding 21, the officer added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but Iraq’s dwindling Christian community, which is estimated to number about 400,000 to 600,000 people, has often been targeted by al-Qaida and other insurgents who see the Christians as unbelievers.

A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.

 

Crowds Gather in Bethlehem for Christmas

Սուրբ Ծննունդ, Բեթխեհեմ

 

Large crowds have begun to gather in the biblical town of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations.

Hundreds of tourists packed the town’s Manger Square to enjoy the cool, sunny weather ahead of celebrations on Tuesday evening. The nearby Church of the Nativity sits on the spot where tradition says Jesus was born.

The number of visitors remains below the levels of the late 1990s, when Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts were at their height. Following the outbreak of a Palestinian uprising in 2000, the numbers plunged.

 

 

Սուրբ Ծննունդ, Բեթխեհեմ

But thanks to a period of relative calm, they have been steadily climbing in recent years — and are expected to get an extra push this year thanks to the resumption of peace talks.

Palestinian Tourism Minister Rula Maayah says the Palestinians “deserve to have peace.”

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Israel’s Parliament Bans Christmas Tree Display

Իսրայել, խորհրդարան,տոնածառ

 

The office of the speaker of Israel’s parliament says he has rejected a Christian lawmaker’s request to publically display a Christmas tree in the building.

Eran Sidis, a spokesman for Yuli Edelstein, said Monday that the speaker rejected yesterday’s request, but said the parliamentarian could display a Christmas tree in his office and his party’s conference room.

Sidis denied the rejection was connected to Israel’s Jewish character. He said displaying the tree until Orthodox Christmas January 7 would be too long.

Hanna Swaid, a Christian opposition lawmaker from Israel’s Arab minority, said a Christmas tree would promote multiculturalism and freedom of religion.

There have been previous bans on public Christmas tree displays. The mayor of a Jewish town bordering Nazareth has previously refused them, though some Christians live there.

 

Thousands Evacuated From Flooded Gaza Homes

Գազա, հեղեղ

An official says Gaza’s rescue service has evacuated more than 4,000 people from homes flooded after four days of heavy rain across the territory.

The downpour continued Saturday. It’s part of a storm that covered Jerusalem and some of the West Bank with thick snow.

In Gaza, some of those trapped by rising waters were evacuated by fishing boats.

Mohammed al-Madaina of the Gaza rescue service says efforts were hampered by lack of fuel and power, a result of a tightened Egyptian border closure. Israel and Egypt have restricted access to Gaza since the Islamic militant Hamas seized the territory in 2007.

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Germany to Take in 5,000 More Syrian Refugees

 սիրիացի փախստականներ

 

Germany says it will take in a further 5,000 refugees from Syria, doubling its current offer of shelter for people fleeing the Arab nation’s civil war.

The decision was announced Friday at a meeting of officials from Germany’s 16 states, which share responsibility for housing refugees.

Lower Saxony’s interior minister, Boris Pistorius, said Germany couldn’t look away from the humanitarian disaster in Syria.

Millions of Syrians have fled their homes, with hundreds of thousands seeking refuge in neighboring countries.

Pistorius says a Europe-wide solution is needed to ensure that each country takes in as many refugees as it reasonably can.

Germany has offered shelter to the largest number of Syrians so far.

 

Netanyahu Gives Pope Book by Father on Inquisition

Նաթանյահու, պապ,ինկվիզիցիա

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given Pope Francis a book about the Inquisition in Spain that was written by his late father.

Netanyahu presented a Spanish translation of the 1995 book, “The Origins of the Inquisition,” to Francis during their 25-minute private audience Monday.

Netanyahu’s father, Ben-Zion Netanyahu, was an Israeli historian who died last year. A Zionist activist who opposed partitioning Palestine between Arabs and Jews, he was best known in academic circles for his research into the Catholic Church’s medieval inquisition against the Jews of Spain.

“To his Holiness Pope Franciscus, a great shepherd of our common heritage,” the Israeli leader wrote on the inside front page of the book.

Later Monday, Netanyahu met with Italian Premier Enrico Letta.

 

Israeli Troops Return Fire After Attack From Syria

The Israeli military says its troops have come under attack from Syria and have fired back in retaliation.

The military says a mortar round landed on the Israeli side of the frontier Monday and then gunfire targeted an Israeli patrol. There were no injuries on the Israeli side. The troops returned fire toward their attackers in Syria.

Gunfire and mortar rounds from Syria have periodically hit inside the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Israel believes most of the fire is errant spillover from the Syrian civil war. But in some cases, it has accused forces in Syria of intentionally firing into the Golan.

Israel has generally kept its distance from the civil war, saying it has no interest getting dragged into a conflict where nearly all factions involved are hostile to Israel.

 

Syria peace conference set for January 22, U.N. says

ՄԱԿ,Սիրիա, խաղաղության կոնֆերանս

 

After months of delays, a “Geneva II” conference meant to broker an end to the Syrian civil war has been scheduled to begin on January 22 in Geneva, Switzerland, the United Nations said Monday morning.

“At long last and for the first time, the Syrian government and opposition will meet at the negotiation table rather than the battlefield,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said during a news conference.

While he called the U.N.-brokered meeting a “mission of hope” and called on both sides to cease violence and release detainees in preparation for the talks, he did not say which parties will attend — a subject that helped push back the conference for months.

While he called the U.N.-brokered meeting a “mission of hope” and called on both sides to cease violence and release detainees in preparation for the talks, he did not say which parties will attend — a subject that helped push back the conference for months.

The conference would bring representatives from Syria’s government and elements of the opposition to negotiate an end to the fighting that has wracked Syria since March 2011.

Yet the opposition is hardly a single group; it consists of numerous factions that often oppose each other.

The conference had been held up in part because many branches of the Syrian opposition said they wouldn’t attend, or wouldn’t participate without preconditions.

Geneva II is a successor to Geneva I, a June 2012 meeting in which international parties laid out a peace plan for Syria that calls for a transitional governing body. It left open the question of whether al-Assad must leave power.

 

Egypt Tells Turkish Ambassador to Leave

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry says the Turkish ambassador to Cairo has been considered persona non grata and will be ordered to leave the country because of Turkey’s continued “interference” in Egyptian internal affairs. A statement issued by the ministry’s spokesman Saturday said the government has decided to lower diplomatic representation to the level of charge d’affaires. It said Egypt has already transferred its own ambassador to Turkey to Cairo. Egypt has denounced Turkish criticism of the Egyptian military’s overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

Al Qaeda-linked group claims responsibility for bomb attack on Iranian embassy that killed 23 in Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut

Ալ Քաիդա,Բեյրութ,Իրանի դեսպանատուն, պայթյունները

 

An Al Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility for twin suicide bombings that struck outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut today, killing 23 people including an Iranian diplomat.

The obscure Abdullah Azzam Brigades said it carried out the mid-morning bombings in a Hezbollah stronghold – the latest strike in battles that have played out in the region for decades and now intensified with the civil war next door in Syria.

The authenticity of the claim could not be independently verified but it was posted on a militant website and on the Twitter account of Sirajuddin Zurayqat, a prominent Islamic militant leader.

The group said it will continue with such attacks until the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group withdraws its forces from Syria, where the group is fighting alongside President Bashar Assad’s forces against the mostly Sunni rebels seeking to topple him.

An unidentified Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman blamed Israel for the attacks while Hezbollah and Syrian officials indirectly blamed Saudi Arabia.