From the Independent
Ukraine crisis: Peace deal in ‘great danger’ as fierce fighting continues just hours before midnight ceasefire
From The Independent
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Shots fired at Copenhagen synagogue
(JTA) — Three people were reportedly shot in an attack at a synagogue in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The shooting occurred just hours after a fatal shooting at an event featuring a Danish cartoonist, Lars Vilks, who is under police protection because of his cartoons caricaturing Mohammed. It is not yet clear if the two shootings are related.
Multiple reports said two policemen and a civilian were shot in the synagogue attack, which reportedly occurred shortly after midnight on Saturday. A civilian was killed and three policemen were wounded in the earlier attack at a cafe.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the Danish prime minister, said the attack on the cafe was a terrorist attack. Copenhagen was on high alert.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
AP report tallies civilians killed in airstrikes on homes in Gaza
(JTA) — An Associated Press investigation into Israeli airstrikes on Gaza homes during last summer’s war against Hamas concluded that 508 people, or over 60 percent of the casualties, were children, women and older men.
The report, which the Associated Press called “the most painstaking attempt to date to try to determine who was killed in strikes on homes,” was compiled by investigating 247 Israeli airstrikes and interviewing witnesses.
Israel launched air strikes after an intensification of rocket fire attacks launched from Gaza onto southern Israeli towns.
Israeli officials have accused Hamas and other groups of launching attacks from population-dense areas. According to Israel, Palestinian groups used houses to hide weapons, fighters and command centers. Israeli officials said they used safeguards against hitting civilians, including calling off strikes at the last minute when civilians appeared and delivering warnings so civilians could evacuate.
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From PressTV
Israel coerces Palestine kids into confessing: Rights group
The Israeli regime subjects arrested Palestinian children to cruel torment to obtain “coerced” confessions from them, a children’s rights group says.
“The Israeli military detention system subjects Palestinian children to several days of prolonged interrogation and isolation with the apparent goal of obtaining a confession at all costs,” said Ayed Abu Qtaish, the director of Accountability Program at the Palestine section of Defense for Children International (DCI).
The rights organization further said the Palestinian child detainees spent an average of 15 days in solitary confinement in 2014, adding that one of the Palestinian kids captured by Tel Aviv regime forces had been kept as many as 26 days in isolation for interrogation purposes.
“The military courts admit these coerced confessions as evidence to convict these children in a complete mockery of due process and fair trial standards,” the group added.
The group also said that Israel kept in excess of 56 Palestinian children, who had no right to be accompanied by an adult, in solitary confinement between 2012 and 2014.
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From The Telegraph (UK)
Italy’s birth rate drops to its lowest level in 150 years as economy tanks
- Fewer babies were born in Italy in 2014 than in any other year since 1861
- Number of live births last year was 509,000 – 5,000 fewer than previous year
- Births per 1,000 people living in Italy is 8.4, down from 38.3 150 years ago
- Babies born to natives and foreigners dropped as immigration tumbled
Italy’s birth rate has dropped to its lowest in more than 150 years amid a sluggish economy.
Fewer babies were born in Italy in 2014 than in any other year since the modern Italian state was formed in 1861, new figures have revealed.
National statistics office ISTAT said the number of live births last year was 509,000 – 5,000 fewer than in 2013 – rounding off half a century of decline.
The number of births per 1,000 people is now at 8.4, down from 38.3 150 years ago, according to The Daily Telegraph.