From the Jewish Daily Forward

Alan Gross Gets 3.2M Settlement From Feds Over Cuba Imprisonment

USAID Settles Claim With Jewish Contractor’s Employer

By Reuters

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced it has settled claims with a company that employed Alan Gross, the contractor freed last week after five years in a Cuban jail as part of a major shift in U.S.-Cuba relations.

USAID finalized the settlement with Development Alternatives, Inc (DAI) on Monday night for $3.2 million, according to a spokesman for the federal agency that handles aid to foreign countries.

CNN reported that Gross has received the $3.2 million.
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From PressTV

US military rejects Jordan jet was shot down by ISIL

The United States rejects a claim by the ISIL Takfiri terrorists that they shot down a Jordanian F-16 fighter jet flying with US-led coalition forces in eastern Syria.

“Evidence clearly indicates that ISIL did not down the aircraft as the terrorist organization is claiming,” said US Central Command (CentCom) in a statement on Wednesday.

The body, which oversees the US-led coalition airstrikes against the ISIL militants in Iraq and Syria, did not give a cause for the crash.

The statement, however, confirmed the Jordanian pilot had been taken hostage by the ISIL Takfiri militants.
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From PressTV

Gazans hold funeral for Israel attack victim

Palestinians have held a funeral in the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza Strip for a man who was killed by Israeli forces during their latest assault on the coastal enclave.

Tayseer al-Ismary, 33, died on Wednesday after being hit by an Israeli bullet, said Palestinian medical sources.

An Israeli military statement said, “In response to the firing at our forces who were east of the fence in the southern Gaza Strip, we carried out immediate attacks against the relevant targets. There was an airstrike and one by a tank.”

Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, warned Palestinians in a statement of another “foolish” Israeli act, calling upon the international community to carry out its responsibilities toward renewed Israeli aggression.
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From PressTV

Syrian opposition groups to meet in Cairo

The Egyptian capital Cairo will host a meeting of Syrian opposition groups aimed at ending the crisis that has killed and displaced thousands of people during the last four years.

An opposition source said on Wednesday that opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government will hold a meeting in Cairo in order to arrive at a “joint vision” to in an effort to end the nearly four-year war.

Munzer Khaddam of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change said, “Several opposition groups and individuals have been in talks for more than two months, and we have been in contact with them to try to reach a joint vision to solve the crisis.”

Although Khaddam did not give a certain timetable, another opposition source said the meeting was expected to be held in mid-January, followed by another meeting in the Russian capital Moscow.
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