QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We are confident and sure about victory, and I confirm that Syria will stay as it was, but even more than before, in supporting resistance fighters in all the Arab world.”
Syrian President Bashar Assad in an interview broadcast Thursday on Lebanese TV station Al-Manar Article, 1A
Afghans capture 6 in Kabul attack plot
KABUL - Afghan intelligence agents captured six militants with suicide vests and heavy weaponry who were planning a major attack in Kabul, an official said Thursday. A seventh purported plotter was killed in the raid on a hideout in the capital.
The raid came hours after militants hit a guesthouse used by the International Committee of the Red Cross on Wednesday night, killing an Afghan in an escalation of high-profile attacks targeting international organizations. Afghan security forces rescued seven foreigners.
Agents found five explosives-filled vests, a grenade launcher, assault rifles and maps and documents indicating their plan was to attack government facilities in the capital, said Shafiqullah Tahiri, spokesman for the National Directorate of Security.
He said the militants were connected with the Haqqani network, a militant group based in Pakistan known for conducting highly visible attacks. He also said the militants had ties with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, without elaborating. Kabul frequently accuses Islamabad’s spy agency of backing militant operations, but rarely provides specific details.
Israel approves 300 new settler homes
JERUSALEM - Israel’s Housing Ministry said Thursday it has given the final go-ahead for the construction of 300 new homes in a Jewish settlement in east Jerusalem, complicating the mission of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to renew Mideast peace talks.
The announcement came less than a week after Kerry urged Israel to avoid “provocative” actions during a visit to the region. A U.S. State Department spokesman described the move as “counterproductive.”
Palestinian officials immediately accused Israel of undermining the U.S. mediation efforts.
The issue of Jewish settlements has been at the heart of a nearly five-year impasse in peace efforts. Negotiations broke down in late 2008 and have remained stalled since then.
Gay-marriage ban advances in Nigeria
ABUJA, Nigeria - Nigeria’s House of Representatives voted Thursday to ban same-sex marriage and outlaw any groups actively supporting homosexual rights, endorsing a measure that also calls for 10-year prison sentences for any “public show” of affection by a same-sex couple.
Representatives appeared to unanimously approve the proposal in a voice vote, sending it immediately to President Goodluck Jonathan. It wasn’t immediately clear if Jonathan would sign the measure.
Nigeria’s Senate previously passed the bill in November 2011, and the measure quietly disappeared for some time before coming up in Thursday’s session of the House. A copy of the House bill, obtained by The Associated Press, mirrored what the Senate previously passed.
Under the proposed law, Nigeria would ban any same sex marriage from being conducted in either a church or a mosque. Same-sex couples who marry could face up to 14 years each in prison. Witnesses or anyone who helps couples marry could be sentenced to 10 years behind bars. Anyone taking part in a group advocating for gay rights or anyone caught in a same-sex “public show of affection” also would face 10 years in prison if convicted by a criminal court.
Buddhist monks shelter Burma Muslims
LASHIO, Burma - More than 1,000 Muslims who fled Burma’s latest bout of sectarian violence huddled Thursday in a Buddhist monastery guarded by army soldiers as calm returned to this northeastern city, though burnt-out buildings leveled by Buddhist rioters still smoldered.
The violence in Lashio this week highlights the slow spread of anti-Muslim unrest across Burma since starting last year in western Rakhine state and hitting the central city of Meikhtila in March. President Thein Sein’s government, which inherited power from the military two years ago, has been heavily criticized for failing to contain the violence.
The rioting began Tuesday after a Muslim man splashed gasoline on a Buddhist woman and set her on fire. Buddhist mobs responded by burning down several Muslim-owned shops, a mosque and an Islamic orphanage. Roving motorcyclists continued the violence on Wednesday, leaving one person dead and four injured.
Presidential spokesman Ye Htut said 25 people had been detained so far. He said all those arrested were from Lashio.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 05/31/2013