WORLD
April 21, 2013 | By Paul Richter
ISTANBUL -- Secretary of State John F. Kerry has urged Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to delay a planned visit to the Gaza Strip, saying it could jeopardize efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Ending a two-day visit here, Kerry told reporters Sunday he believed that "it would be more helpful [for Erdogan] to wait for the right circumstance. ... We're trying to get off the ground, and we would like to see the parties with as little outside distraction as possible.
WORLD
April 14, 2013 | By Edmund Sanders
JERUSALEM - An Israeli investigation into the worst civilian tragedy of last November's Gaza Strip offensive - an attack that killed 10 members of a single family and two neighbors - concluded that soldiers bombed the home by mistake and should not face criminal charges or other disciplinary action. The Nov. 18 Israeli air strike was one of the most horrific and widely publicized incidents of the eight-day clash with the Gaza-based militant group Hamas. The military campaign, dubbed Operation Pillar of Defense, came after Gaza militants refused to stop firing rockets into southern Israel and Israel Defense Forces retaliated by assassinating the top Hamas military commander.
WORLD
April 8, 2013 | By Carol J. Williams
Unearthing the mystery of Pablo Neruda's death Monday, April 8 : Did famed Chilean poet Pablo Neruda die of cancer or was he poisoned? The remains of the Nobel Prize laureate will be exhumed Monday from his Isla Negra grave on the Chilean coast as authorities probe allegations that he was murdered in the wake of the 1973 military coup that brought Gen. Augusto Pinochet to power. The cause of death was listed at the time as advanced prostate cancer. But Neruda's chauffeur and bodyguard, Manuel Araya Osorio, came forward two years ago with a report that the 69-year-old leftist had appeared well on the morning of his death and, after suddenly becoming feverish, told of being given an injection by a doctor the previous night.
WORLD
April 7, 2013 | By Batsheva Sobelman
JERUSALEM -- A widespread hacker attack targeting Israeli websites caused some disruption to government, academic and private sites Sunday. The extent of the damage was unclear at midday, but officials said strategic infrastructure appeared to have largely repelled the attacks, expected to increase later in the day as Israel begins to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Hundreds of websites have been attacked, and more than a dozen government sites have been temporarily disabled since the attack that threatened to "erase Israel from cyber-space" began. The attack -- dubbed and tagged #OpIsrael by hackers affiliated with the shadowy group Anonymous -- was announced in advance and described by its organizers as an act of solidarity with Palestinians in retaliation for Israel's treatment of them, as well as for Israeli settlement activity and what is perceived as disrespect for international law. Several government websites, including those of the ministries of Education, Defense and Environmental Protection, were disabled overnight, defaced with anti-Israeli messages and loud music.
WORLD
April 6, 2013 | By Carol J. Williams
Fiery peppers and searing spices heat up Gaza Strip cuisine, a fitting metaphor, perhaps, for the enclave's place in the cauldron of Middle East strife. Israeli troops have imposed a tight cordon around Gaza border crossings, sea access and airspace since the strip's 2007 takeover by the militant Islamic group Hamas, crippling a fragile economy where nearly half the residents are jobless. That means Gazans are confronted with daily challenges to put their signature foods on the family table: Locally made olive oil has disappeared, the once-resplendent olive groves blasted by artillery exchanges.
WORLD
April 2, 2013 | By Edmund Sanders
JERUSALEM -- A 4-month-old cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip appeared to be collapsing early Wednesday after militants fired projectiles into southern Israel and the Israel Defense Forces responded with airstrikes against two targets in northern Gaza. No injuries were reported in either attack. The exchanges marked the first airstrike by Israel into Gaza since an eight-day offensive in November that led to the deaths of at least 168 Palestinians and six Israelis.