MONTENEGRO
Police disperse protesters
Police on Saturday fired tear gas at opposition supporters who hurled fire bombs and torches to demand the resignation Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic’s government, which hopes to steer the country toward NATO membership later this year. Several thousand protesters charged at the parliament building in downtown Podgorica, shouting “Milo Thief” and throwing various objects, including fire bombs, at riot police guarding the site. The police then threw tear gas, chasing away the demonstrators with armored vehicles. Witnesses said that several shop-windows were broken in the unrest, as tear gas smoke enveloped the city center. Police said 15 policemen were hurt, while 24 protesters sought medical assistance because of tear gas. One opposition leader was detained. Police also used tear gas twice last week against stone-throwing government opponents, who are also calling for early elections and a referendum on whether Montenegro should join NATO.
ISRAEL
Arab paraglides into Syria
The military said an Arab citizen has flown into Syria using a paraglider. The military yesterday said it is still examining the incident. Initially there was concern an Israeli citizen on Saturday had been accidentally swept into Syria by the winds and captured by one of the rebel groups there. Such a scenario would have put Israel is a dire situation of having to reclaim a hostage. However, military officials say it now appears it was a 23-year-old from an Arab town in Israel who planned the maneuver with the intent of joining Syrian rebel fighters. Dozens of Israeli Arabs have sneaked into Syria in recent years to join the civil war. This would appear to be the first case of someone doing so via air.
GUYANA
Task force cleaning drains
The government is taking advantage of the country’s current dry weather to clean out clogged drains, sewer pipes and gutters in hopes of easing flooding during the next rainy season. A multiagency task force said in a statement that millions are being spent on the cleanup. Heavy rainfall during two wet seasons, roughly in January and in May, usually floods large parts of the capital city and coast. Flooding made worse by clogged drains typically forces the closure of schools and government offices and paralyzes large parts of commercial Georgetown. Task force spokesman Freddie Flatts said workers are racing to complete the cleaning before year’s end, when the next rainy season is expected to begin.
UNITED STATES
Police return student’s clock
A 14-year-old Muslim boy arrested after a homemade clock he took to his Dallas-area school was mistaken for a possible bomb has gotten the item back as he and his family prepare to move to the Middle East. Irving police said Reggie London, an attorney for Ahmed Mohamed, picked the clock up on Friday. Mohamed took the clock to his high school to show a teacher on Sept. 14, but another teacher thought it could be a bomb. Police ultimately chose not to charge Mohamed with having a hoax bomb. His family on Tuesday said that they had accepted a foundation’s offer to pay for his high school and college education in Qatar, and that the whole family would be moving there. He had visited Qatar during a whirlwind tour several weeks following the incident that even included a stop at the White House.
Far from the violence ravaging Haiti, a market on the border with the Dominican Republic has maintained a welcome degree of normal everyday life. At the Dajabon border gate, a wave of Haitians press forward, eager to shop at the twice-weekly market about 200km from Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. They are drawn by the market’s offerings — food, clothing, toys and even used appliances — items not always readily available in Haiti. However, with gang violence bad and growing ever worse in Haiti, the Dominican government has reinforced the usual military presence at the border and placed soldiers on alert. While the market continues to
An image of a dancer balancing on the words “China Before Communism” looms over Parisian commuters catching the morning metro, signaling the annual return of Shen Yun, a controversial spectacle of traditional Chinese dance mixed with vehement criticism of Beijing and conservative rhetoric. The Shen Yun Performing Arts company has slipped the beliefs of a spiritual movement called Falun Gong in between its technicolored visuals and leaping dancers since 2006, with advertising for the show so ubiquitous that it has become an Internet meme. Founded in 1992, Falun Gong claims nearly 100 million followers and has been subject to “persistent persecution” in
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