Netanyahu hopes ties with Arabs to grow
AP, Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday hailed his country’s “fruitful cooperation” with Arab nations, as fears over Iranian influence appear to drive one-time adversaries closer together.
“Our fruitful cooperation with Arab countries is in general secret, but I am confident that relations with them will continue to mature and that this will allow us to enlarge the circle of peace,” he said in a speech to mark the 44th anniversary of the death of Israel’s founder David Ben Gurion.
Syrian oppon to send united team to Geneva talks
AFP, Riyadh
Syria’s disparate opposition groups announced an agreement early Friday to send a united delegation to next week’s UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva, as international diplomatic efforts intensify to end the six-year conflict.
The announcement came on the second day of a Saudi-sponsored meeting in Riyadh, where around 140 opposition figures are gathered to unify their ranks before direct talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime on November 28.
PNG police end standoff with refugees
AFP, Sydney
Papua New Guinea police wielding metal rods cleared the final 320 holdouts from a shuttered Australian refugee camp Friday, ending a 24-day standoff that put a global spotlight on Canberra’s tough policy on asylum-seekers.
Videos and photos posted by the detainees showed police moving through the camp on Manus Island, swinging long metal batons and pushing men towards buses bound for PNG-run centres elsewhere on the island.
Pak police officer killed in suicide attack
Reuters, Peshawar
A suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed a top Pakistani police officer and one of his guards on Friday in the city of Peshawar, police said.
Additional Inspector General Ashraf Noor was leaving his home for work when the bomber rammed into his vehicle, city police chief Tahir Khan said.
Noor’s vehicle was engulfed in flame, killing him on the spot, Khan said. One of his five guards died in hospital, the police chief said.
Turkey to detain 79
ex-teachers
Reuters, Ankara
Turkish authorities issued detention warrants on Friday for 79 former teachers, the state-run Anadolu news agency said, as part of a widening crackdown since last year’s failed coup attempt.
The teachers were formerly employed at schools allegedly linked to the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused by Ankara of orchestrating last July’s abortive putsch, Anadolu said. The schools were shut down after the coup attempt.
Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, denies involvement.
