Western Asia

Israel warns against Russian arms supply to Syria

Thomson Reuters — Sat, 18 May 2013 21:30:05 +0000

Thomson Reuters

Kerry heading back to Middle East, visiting Africa

Agence France-Presse — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:30:34 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Amid moves to end the Syrian war and kick-start Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Secretary of State John Kerry is traveling back to the Middle East next week, a top US official said Friday.

The new top US diplomat will also make his first trip to Africa since replacing Hillary Clinton in early February.

Kerry will first visit Oman for talks with Omani officials on Tuesday, before then heading to Jordan, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Egypt police shut Rafah crossing to protest abductions

Agence France-Presse — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:45:53 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Egyptian police closed the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on Friday in protest at the kidnapping of colleagues in the Sinai peninsula, a security source and witnesses said.

Three policemen and four soldiers were abducted on Thursday by armed men who are demanding the release of a group of prisoners held at a police station in the North Sinai town of El-Arish, official media reported.

The captured policemen worked at the Rafah border terminal, a security source said.

Egypt gunmen kidnap policemen, soldiers in Sinai

Agence France-Presse — Thu, 16 May 2013 06:00:05 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Unidentified gunmen on Thursday kidnapped three Egyptian policemen and four soldiers in the Sinai peninsula, security officials said.

The servicemen were travelling to Cairo when the minibuses they were in were stopped at gunpoint in Al-Wadi al-Akhdar region which lies east of El-Areesh in north Sinai, they said.

The three captured policemen are from the Central Security Forces, the branch of the interior ministry used to quell protest. The four other men belong to the armed forces. The two groups were travelling in separate minibuses, officials said.

Red Cross says Yemen captive staff are fine

Agence France-Presse — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:05:59 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Three employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross kidnapped by Yemeni tribesmen are in good condition, but the demands of their captors remain unknown, an ICRC spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

"Our colleagues told us that they are fine," ICRC Middle East spokeswoman Dibeh Fakhr told AFP, confirming the three employees were being held by a group in southern Yemen since Monday.

Palestinian man loses quarter-century deportation battle, sent to Lebanon

The Canadian Press — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:38:57 +0000

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - A 70-year-old Palestinian man who built a family in Canada while fighting deportation for more than a quarter century was removed from the country over the weekend.

Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad was transported by charter flight to Lebanon, said Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who described the protracted case as "almost a comedy of errors."

"After a 26-year stay in Canada, we finally succeeded in deporting this convicted, terrorist killer," Kenney told an Ottawa news conference.

Israel opens Gulf mission

Agence France-Presse — Sun, 12 May 2013 12:45:16 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Israel has opened a new diplomatic mission in the Gulf, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Sunday, citing finance ministry costings for 2014 prepared for submission to the government this week.

"The paper is an economic plan for the next year and does not name the location of the new mission," Haaretz said.

Questioned by AFP, a foreign ministry spokesman would say only that Israel "officially has no diplomatic representation in the Gulf."

Israel asks Russia not to sell Syria advanced S-300 air shield: officials

Thomson Reuters — Sun, 12 May 2013 11:31:22 +0000

Thomson Reuters

By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has asked Russia not to sell Syria an advanced air defense system which would help President Bashar al-Assad fend off foreign military intervention as he battles a more than two-year-old rebellion, Israeli officials said on Thursday.

Citing U.S. officials, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Israel had told Washington that Syria had already began payments for a $900 million purchase of the S-300 and an initial delivery was due within three months.

AFP 1900 GMT news advisory

Agence France-Presse — Sat, 11 May 2013 12:46:47 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Duty editor: Susan Stumme

Tel: +1 202 414 0541

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US-crime-kidnap,WRAP

CLEVELAND, Ohio

Unemployed US bus driver Ariel Castro is ordered held on an $8 million bond on charges he kidnapped and raped three women and held them in his home for a decade.

Syria to 'respond immediately' to any new Israeli strike

Agence France-Presse — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:18:04 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Syria will "respond immediately" to any new Israeli attack against its territory, its deputy foreign minister told AFP on Thursday, after two reported Israeli strikes last week.

"The instruction has been made to respond immediately to any new Israeli attack without (additional) instruction from any higher leadership, and our retaliation will be strong and will be painful," Faisal Muqdad said.

sk/sah-ser/

Physicist Stephen Hawking won't attend Israeli conference, cites 'personal reasons'

The Canadian Press — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:38:51 +0000

The Canadian Press

LONDON - Physicist Stephen Hawking has dropped plans to attend a major conference in Israel in June, prompting criticism from Israeli officials.

A University of Cambridge statement said Wednesday that the world-famous scientist won't go to the Jerusalem conference because of "personal reasons."

Israeli Presidential Conference officials said Hawking's decision is seen as "unjustifiable and wrong."

Gunmen kill alcohol seller in Egypt's Sinai

Thomson Reuters — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:02:52 +0000

Thomson Reuters

ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Gunmen shot a man dead who was selling alcohol in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Sunday in an attack security officials said was likely carried out by Islamist militants.

The four gunmen killed Rami Ahmed, 28, at a bar on a main road near El-Arish, a town in the northern Sinai Peninsula. It is an area where Islamist militant influence has expanded since the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak more than two years ago.

Netanyahu silent on Syria attack, speaks about Israeli security

Thomson Reuters — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:58:28 +0000

Thomson Reuters

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made no mention at a public appearance on Sunday of Israeli air strikes on Syria in recent days but spoke pointedly about a commitment to keeping Israel secure.

"(My father) taught me that the greatest responsibility we have is to ensure Israel's security and guarantee its future," he said, dedicating a highway interchange named after his late father, Benzion Netanyahu, a historian who died a year ago.

U.S. not notified before air raids on Syria: intelligence official

Thomson Reuters — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:51:52 +0000

Thomson Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States was not given any warning before air strikes in Syria against what Western and Israeli officials say were weapons headed for Hezbollah militants, a U.S. intelligence official said on Sunday.

Without confirming that Israel was behind the attacks, the U.S. intelligence official said that the United States was essentially told of the air raids "after the fact" and was notified as the bombs went off.

China urges restraint in Syria after Israeli strikes

Thomson Reuters — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:42:43 +0000

Thomson Reuters

By Michael Martina

BEIJING (Reuters) - China issued veiled criticism of Israel on Monday as its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, began a visit, saying China opposed the use of force and urged restraint and the respect of sovereignty after Israel launched strikes in Syria.

Israeli jets devastated Syrian targets near Damascus on Sunday in a heavy overnight air raid that Western and Israeli officials called a new strike on Iranian missiles bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah.