1. 6 Jewish suspects arrested in slaying of Arab teen
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel arrested six Jewish suspects Sunday in the grisly slaying of a Palestinian teenager who was abducted and burned to death last week, marking a breakthrough in a case that has touched off violent protests in Arab sections of Jerusalem and northern Israel.
In a statement, Israeli police and the Shin Bet security agency said the suspects were being interrogated.
While the statement did not say how many were taken into custody, an official speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still going on, said it was six.
In a case that has gripped the country’s attention, Mohammed Abu Khdeir, 16, was abducted outside his home in east Jerusalem early Wednesday, and his charred remains were found in a Jerusalem forest shortly afterward.
Palestinians immediately accused Jewish extremists of killing Abu Khdeir to avenge the killings of three Israeli teens who were kidnapped while hitchhiking. Israel has blamed the slayings on the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Israeli officials said Sunday they believe Abu Khdeir’s killers acted out of “nationalistic” motives.
2. Thousands cheer pro-Russia rebels at Ukraine rally
DONETSK, Ukraine — Driven out of their key stronghold in eastern Ukraine, pro-Russia separatists regrouped Sunday in the city of Donetsk, vowing to renew their fight against the government in Kiev before thousands of cheering supporters at a rally.
Ukrainian troops Saturday forced the rebels out of Slovyansk, a city of about 100,000 that had been the center of the fighting. The government’s success there suggested it may finally be making gains in the months-long battle against the insurgency.
President Petro Poroshenko said, while it was not a total victory, purging Slovyansk of the armed insurgents had “incredible symbolic importance.”
It was not yet clear, however, whether the rebels have been permanently crippled and their setback will also increase pressure on Russia to do more to help them.
Rebel fighters from Slovyansk and other towns taken over by the Ukrainian army moved freely Sunday around central Donetsk, a city of 1 million and the capital of a region where the separatists have declared independence in the name of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
3. France steps up security on US-bound flights
PARIS (AP) — France is increasing security on flights headed for the United States this summer amid U.S. concerns that al-Qaida is trying to develop a new kind of bomb.
The Obama administration this week called for tighter security measures at foreign airports that have direct flights to the U.S., prompting British airports to increase security Thursday.
The French civil aviation authority Friday announced stepped-up security measures “for the summer period.” The agency said the measures might cause delays on U.S.-bound flights.
French government officials would not elaborate on the measures, citing the need for discretion in security matters.
One fear is that extremists with a U.S. or other Western passport could carry the new bomb onto a plane undetected by airport security.
At Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport, U.S.-bound flights saw delays of 30 minutes to an hour Friday. Sophie le Poulennec, a 26-year-old heading to Chicago, said she hoped there weren’t any new luggage restrictions as a result.
A U.S. counterterrorism official said this week that American intelligence has picked up indications that bomb makers from Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula have traveled to Syria to link up with the al-Qaida affiliate there, known as the Nusra Front.
4. US activists hopeful about delayed deportation
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Activists are pointing to the delayed deportation of a mother and her children as the kind of compassion they hope President Barack Obama will pursue in the wake of his announcement that he’ll act on his own to address immigration problems.
Garland resident Ana Cañenquez and four of her seven children were originally ordered to leave the United States and return to El Salvador by March 21. That date was pushed back, and now there’s no specific deadline for them to leave.
The extra time allows her to save money to afford a home back in El Salvador, both she and immigration officials said.
Advocates hope that kind of discretion is something Obama will expand.
“Many in the community hope the president will use more prosecutorial discretion,” Proyecto Latino de Utah director Tony Yapias said. “It makes sense for [the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency] to focus on serious criminals rather than to separate families or target people who keep out of trouble here. That is a wiser use of resources.”
Cañenquez said her family would face a life of extreme poverty in her native El Salvador, and she fears gangs in that country could mean death for her four sons should they be sent there.
5. Thief returns 9/11 firefighter’s flag with apology
HUNTINGTON STATION, N.Y. (AP) — An American flag stolen from the family of a firefighter killed on Sept. 11 has been returned with a note that says: “I am so sorry, I had no idea.”
NBC New York reported that the flag was returned Thursday. It has resumed flying on the porch of Melissa Brengel’s home in Huntington Station on New York’s Long Island.
Brengel’s brother, Jonathan Ielpi, was 29 when he died at the World Trade Center in 2001.
The family believed the flag was stolen Monday or early Tuesday.
“We put it out during certain times of the year just to remember,” Brengel said.
She said the September 11th Families Association gave her the flag after it flew over the World Trade Center ruins.
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