Peres says Israel could face an eternal war
AP, Jerusalem
Over a seven-decade career in politics, Shimon Peres has helped guide Israel through wars and existential threats. But now, with the country embroiled in a new wave of violence, the 92-year-old elder statesman worries that if its leaders do not get serious about pursuing peace with the Palestinians, it will be in an eternal state of war and risk losing its Jewish majority.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, the former president stopped short of directly criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But he also made no secret that the values he and the assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin inherited from Israel’s founding father, David Ben-Gurion, were in jeopardy.
Syria reporter killed by rebel fire
AFP, Damascus
A Syrian reporter for an official radio station and a local television channel was killed today by rebel fire outside the capital, state media said.
“Our colleague Batoul Moukhlis Al-Warar, a presenter on Nur al-Sham channel and Damascus radio, has been killed and others wounded in terrorist mortar fire on Dahiyet Al-Assad in Harasta” region, state television said in a breaking news alert.
Damascus radio is an official station, and Nur al-Sham is a religious television channel broadcasting inside Syria.
China expels 2 military officers over
corruption charges
PTI, Beijing
China’s ruling Communist Party today expelled two top military officers from Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia on corruption charges, while a former legislator was jailed for 12 years for accepting $1.75 million bribe.
Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) today said that 20 other military officers from Beijing, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Shanghai and Hebei have been punished for “disciplinary violations”, in the continued crackdown on corruption in the military.
Israel shuts down Palestinian radio station
AP, Jerusalem
The Israeli military raided a Palestinian radio station in the West Bank on Tuesday and confiscated equipment it said was being used to broadcast calls to attack Israelis.
The military said it shut down the Al Hurria radio station in Hebron overnight and accused it of inciting violence in the volatile West Bank city.
Turkish warplanes bomb Kurdish rebel bases
AFP, Ankara
Turkish warplanes have bombed bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey and northern Iraq, the army said on Tuesday.
“Shelters, caves and arms depots identified as being used by terrorists from the separatist terrorist organisation were destroyed with air bombardments,” the military said.
Monday’s air strikes targeted PKK bases in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern province of Hakkari near the Iraqi border, as well as several regions in northern Iraq including their main stronghold on Qandil mountain.
