GAZA CITY, Dec 3 (AFP): Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip early Saturday in separate incidents, Palestinian security officials said. Fisherman Zyad Al-Abael, 20, was killed off Rafah in the south of the strip by shots from an Israeli naval patrol boat. Said Abu Libdeh, 16, was hit as he tried to sneak into Israeli territory near Khan Yunes. Two other Palestinians with him were wounded, the officials said- — AFP.
US to allow scissors, small tools aboard planes WASHINGTON, Dec 3: US authorities Friday loosened restrictions imposed after the September 11 attacks that barred passengers from taking sharp objects such as scissors into airplanes. "Scissors with blades less than four inches (10 centimeters) long and tools like screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers that are less than seven inches (18 centimeters) will be removed from the prohibited items list on December 22," Kip Hawley, head of the Transportation Security Administration told reporters- — AFP.
Russia to test fire new submarine-based ballistic missile MOSCOW, Dec 3: Russia will this month test fire a new ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload up to 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles) from a submarine, a top scientist with the programme said Friday. "A new test firing of the Bulava-M missile should be carried out this month. These tests will continue next year," Yuri Solomonov, chief missile designer at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology, was quoted by the Interfax-AVN military news agency as saying. — AFP.
Epsilon extends record Atlantic hurricane season MIAMI, Dec 3: Tropical Storm Epsilon turned into the 14th Atlantic hurricane of the record-breaking year Friday, two days after the official end of the storm season. Unlike earlier killer hurricanes, Epsilon did not appear to threaten land, churning over the open ocean, 1,965 kilometers (1,220 miles) west of the Azores, according to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami — AFP.
US carries out 1,000th execution since landmark ruling RALEIGH, (North Carolina), Dec 3: Convicted killer Kenneth Boyd Friday became the 1,000th prisoner to be executed in the United States since capital punishment was reintroduced in 1976. "God bless everybody in here," were the last words uttered by Boyd, 57, to witnesses after he was given a lethal injection at the central prison in the North Carolina capital, Raleigh. — AFP.
Eight killed when truck plows into bus in Indonesia JAKARTA, Dec 3: Eight people were killed and 15 others injured Saturday when a truck smashed into a bus near the Indonesian capital, police said. The accident happened after one of the truck's tyres burst while it was travelling on a toll road west of Jakarta, said Syaiful Amri, a local policeman — AFP.
Al-Qaeda operational commander killed in Pakistan: report ISLAMABAD, Dec 3 (AFP): A top Syrian Al-Qaeda operative is believed to have been killed in a missile attack in Pakistan's tribal belt on the Afghan border, a local newspaper reported Saturday. The English language daily Dawn, quoting unidentified sources, said Hamza Rabia was Al-Qaeda's operational commander and was among five militants killed in the missile attack Thursday on a house in North Waziristan. The paper said officials claimed the casualties were the result of an explosion inside the house, but tribal witnesses insisted that a "hail of missiles fired from unmanned air vehicles struck the house" — AFP.
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