International Glance
A Muslim cleric whose kidnapping by CIA agents sparked debate about extraordinary rendition was sentenced Friday in Italy to six years in prison for terrorism.
Hassan Mustafa Omar Nasr was sentenced in Milan for his conviction on being part of a terrorist organization, Italy's ANSA news agency reported. Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, was in Egypt during the trial and was sentenced without being in court.
Italian cleric in CIA rendition case sentenced to six years in prison
Israeli former security chief: failure to end conflict is bigger threat than Iran
The failure to reach a deal to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict poses a bigger existential threat to Israel than the Iranian nuclear programme, according a former head of the country's security agency, Shin Bet.
Yuval Diskin, who left office two years ago, criticised the continuing occupation and the growth of settlements in the West Bank, saying a solution based on two states would soon no longer be an option.
South Africa's Nelson Mandela dies in Johannesburg
South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died, South Africa's president says.
Mr Mandela, 95, led South Africa's transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison. He had been receiving intense home-based medical care for a lung infection after three months in hospital.
In a statement on South African national TV, Mr Zuma said Mr Mandela had "departed" and was at peace.
American teacher slain in Libya
American teacher Ronnie Smith has been shot and killed in Benghazi, according to the Facebook page of the international school in Libya where he worked.
The U.S. State Department confirmed the killing and identified the educator as Ronald Thomas Smith II.
"The untimely death of Ronnie Smith has been felt by the whole school community," the International School Benghazi posted on its Facebook page. "He was a much loved teacher who supported students in their learning and always had time to help when asked. Ronnie was a professional who gave his time freely and without question. We do not understand why this has happened and it is extremely difficult for his students and his colleagues to accept."
American Studies Association backs academic boycott of Israel
The American Studies Association (ASA) leadership is pushing a plan to boycott Israeli universities, saying that Palestinian students and scholars currently face severe obstructions to their right to education “due to the occupation.”
The resolution was passed unanimously by the association’s 20-member national council – composed of elected representatives from the general ASA membership.
ASA president Curtis Marez said the “boycott is the best way to protect and expand academic freedom and access to education.”
Syrian Kurds celebrate war-torn country's first civil marriage
Amid the chaos of a two-and-a-half year war, civil marriage has arrived in Syria, activists and officials in the northeastern town of Qamishli say. Syrian Kurds Hmaren Sharif and her groom, Rashou Suleiman, signed the country's first civil marriage contract over the weekend, under new laws administered by the ruling Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD.
The ceremony in Syria's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region was presided over by the co-mayors of Qamishli, a city of nearly 200,000 where Kurds are the majority but Arabs, Assyrians and Armenians have long co-existed.
Syria: 12 Nuns Abducted by Islamist Rebels in Christian Town of Maaloula
Islamist rebels have abducted 12 nuns from a convent in the predominantly Christian town Maaloula in southwestern Syria.
Rebel fighters forcibly evacuated the nuns from the Saint Tecla Orthodox convent in the historic town north of Damascus and took them to the nearby rebel-held city of Yabroud, according to reports.
The Apostolic Nuncio to Damascus, Monsignor Mario Zenari told Vatican Radio that the convent was stormed by jihadist rebels and the sisters living there, including the mother superior Pelagia Sayyaf, were taken away.
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