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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I want everybody playing in Africa.The more, the merrier.”

President Barack Obama, during his visit to South Africa on Saturday, on deepening U.S economic ties with Africa Article, 9AKerry extends Israel trip, stirs talk hopes

JERUSALEM - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry extended his trip to Israel one day amid speculation that he was closing in on a deal to revive the dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Reports in the Israeli news media have suggested that a meeting between Israeli and Palestinian officials under American and Jordanian auspices might be announced soon.

There has been no comment from U.S. officials, however.

Kerry’s decision to rip up his itinerary and stay in Israel has heightened expectations of a potential breakthrough.

After canceling a Saturday news conference in Jordan and a planned trip later that day to the United Arab Emirates, Kerry flew by helicopter to Amman, Jordan, for a two-hour meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, and his senior advisers, including the Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Asked whether he was making progress as the meeting got under way, Kerry replied, “working hard.”

Kerry then headed back to Israel for an evening meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his third such meeting in three days.

Thousands gather to protest in Istanbul

ISTANBUL - Thousands of protesters returned to Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Saturday, demanding justice for a demonstrator slain by police fire during demonstrations that have swept Turkey this month. Police later forced the protesters out of the square, pushing them back by using their shields.

In the capital, Ankara, police fired tear gas and pressurized water to break up a similar protest by a group of about 200 people, the Dogan news agency reported.

Turkey has been hit by a wave of protests this month that were ignited by a brutal police crackdown on a peaceful environmental sit-in at a park near Taksim. The demonstrations soon turned into a wide outpouring of discontent with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. Four people - three demonstrators and one police officer - have been killed and thousands injured.

The demonstrations have largely subsided in recent days, but thousands converged back on the square Saturday, angry over a court decision this week that released a police officer from custody pending his trial for purportedly killing a protester in Ankara.

The protesters also denounced the killing of a Kurdish demonstrator by paramilitary police in a mainly Kurdish town on Friday.

Grenada bans offensive online comments

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada - Legislators in Grenada have approved a bill that makes it a crime to offend people through websites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The measure was approved as part of an electronic-crimes bill passed late Friday in the tiny eastern Caribbean island. The same bill also imposes penalties on other online activities, including electronic stalking and identity theft.

“We have problems when some use the technology to engage in mischief,” said Legal Affairs Minister Elvin Nimrod.

“We have to put structures in place to ensure that persons and, in some cases, companies and characters are not tarnished.”

According to the bill, which is the first of its kind in the Caribbean, complaints about offensive comments will be filed with police. A judge then decides if the message was offensive.

Those found guilty could be fined up to $37,000 or face three years in prison.

“A person will be able to take that evidence of the posting and use it as evidence in the court,” Nimrod said. “People have to act responsibly to others.”

Dozens arrested at gay rally in Russia

MOSCOW - Russian police arrested several gay-rights activists and Russian nationalists who confronted them at a rally Saturday that was declared illegal under a new law passed earlier this month against “gay propaganda.”

Officials in St. Petersburg deemed that the rally, which took place in a space designated for public demonstrations, violated the law. The statute essentially prohibits public displays of homosexuality, as well as talking about it to children.

About 200 nationalists also gathered at the rally, chanting slogans such as “Sodomy will not pass,” and throwing eggs and rocks at the gay-rights activists, who numbered about 40.

The state-run Itar-TASS news agency quoted an unnamed police official as saying police arrested dozens of people, including eight nationalists.

Front Section, Pages 8 on 06/30/2013

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