The world in brief

Israelis seek to criminalize clash videos

JERUSALEM — Members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition have proposed legislation to criminalize recording or taking unauthorized pictures of Israeli soldiers clashing with Palestinians.

On Sunday, the Israeli government endorsed the proposal, which seeks to criminalize the filming and distribution of images and video footage showing certain Israeli military operations — if the aim is “hurting a soldier’s spirit” or “harming national security.” A conviction for such crimes would carry prison terms of five to 10 years.

The bill comes after a wave of videos showing troops abusing and, in some cases, killing Palestinians that have gone viral on social media or been featured in the mainstream media.

Amit Gilutz, a spokesman of B’Tselem, one of the organizations identified as problematic in the bill, said the group was unperturbed by the legislation.

“If the government finds the occupation too embarrassing to even be visibly documented, it should work to bring it to an end — not go after photographers,” he said.

3 deaths confirmed in Japanese quake

TOKYO — A strong earthquake knocked over walls and set off scattered fires around the city of Osaka in western Japan this morning, and at least three people were feared dead.

The Osaka prefectural government reported two deaths, and an Ibaraki city official confirmed a third.

The dead were reported to be two men in their 80s and a 9-year-old girl at a school.

The magnitude-6.1 earthquake struck shortly after 8 a.m. north of Osaka at a depth of about 8 miles, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The initial strength of the quake was measured at 5.9.

The strongest shaking was north of Osaka, the agency said.

The quake knocked over walls, broke windows and set off scattered building fires. It toppled bookshelves in homes and scattered goods on the floors of convenience stores and other shops.

Box-cutter wielder wounds 2 in France

PARIS — A woman crying “Allahu akbar” — “God is great” in Arabic — injured two people with a box cutter Sunday at a supermarket in southern France before she was detained.

A customer in the store in the maritime town of La Seyne-sur-Mer was injured in the chest and hospitalized. A woman working the cash register was hurt less seriously, French radio station Europe 1 quoted the prosecutor in nearby Toulon as saying.

Prosecutor Bernard Marchal said the suspect may have mental health problems. She had not been identified. Police were searching her home.

“It’s apparently an isolated case involving a person with psychiatric issues,” the prosecutor told Le Monde newspaper. However, that does not exclude the possibility that the suspect was radicalized, Marchal added.

“There is a presumption of attempted murder and … of a crime with terrorist implications,” Marchal was quoted as saying.

Iran says 3 nations to veto boost in oil

LONDON — Iran said Venezuela and Iraq will join it in blocking a proposal to increase oil production that’s backed by Saudi Arabia and Russia when OPEC and its allies meet in Vienna this week.

Iran’s comments show that OPEC members are set to clash when they meet to discuss the proposal to end global output cuts.

While Saudi Arabia and Russia are pumping below capacity, many countries in OPEC, including Iran and Venezuela, would struggle to raise output even if their quotas were increased.

OPEC and its allies could consider a production increase of as much as 1.5 million barrels a day, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said last week. That would be enough to offset the supply losses from Venezuela and Iran foreseen by the International Energy Agency.

U.S. sanctions will contribute to Iran and Venezuela potentially losing almost 30 percent of their oil output next year, requiring extra supplies from the group’s Persian Gulf members, the International Energy Agency said last week.

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