The world in brief

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

— QUOTE OF THE DAY

“France has opened the gates of hell. ... It has fallen into a trap much more dangerous than Iraq, Afghanistan or Somalia.”

Omar Ould Hamaha a leader of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, one of the jihadist groups controlling northern Mali.

Article, 5A

Shots fired at hub of Greek premier

ATHENS, Greece - Rifle shots were fired early Monday into the Athens offices of Greece’s conservative party, which leads the fragile coalition government, causing no injuries but intensifying a wave of political violence in the debt-wracked country.

A police spokesman said Kalashnikov-type assault rifles were used in the attack, which followed a series of bloodless bombings aimed at media and political targets in recent days.

A bullet shattered a third floor window of the building and was found in the office of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, according to a police spokesman. He said another bullet was found on the roof and nine casings outside the building, which is on a busy thoroughfare near central Athens.

Police did not speculate on the identity of the assailants, but state television reported that anti-terrorism officers had joined the investigation.

An anarchist group called Militant Minority-Lovers of Lawlessness claimed responsibility for a string of attacks involving homemade gas canister bombs Friday that targeted five prominent journalists.

Libya plans force to aid embassies

TRIPOLI, Libya - A special Libyan security force is being created to protect embassies and consulates after a wave of attacks by militants that highlights the serious deterioration in security over the past year, an official said Monday.

A brigadier general will lead the new force, Interior Ministry spokesman Magdi el-Urfi said. It will be made up of former rebels who have been integrated into the nation’s police force.

He said setting up the force is in preliminary stages, and officials are studying international law governing the security of foreign dignitaries and buildings.

The announcement of a new security force comes four months after an assault on the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi last September that killed U.S.

Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

The U.S. suspects al-Qaida linked militants carried out the attack.

Court: Berlusconi sex trial to go on

MILAN - A Milan court on Monday rejected a bid by former Premier Silvio Berlusconi to halt his sex-for-hire trial for Italy’s general election campaign, a ruling that makes a verdict likely before the February vote.

Berlusconi’s lawyer accused the court of “interfering heavily” in the Italian political campaign by refusing to suspend the trial so Berlusconi can dedicate himself to campaigning for his center-right coalition.

Prosecutors accused defense lawyer Niccolo Ghedini of merely seeking to delay a verdict in the nearly 2-year-old trial, which started when Berlusconi was still in office. He resigned some seven months later.

Despite his legal woes and sex scandal, Berlusconi’s center-right coalition has been gaining in the polls since he actively began campaigning.

Both he and el-Mahroug have denied sexual relations.

Front Section, Pages 6 on 01/15/2013