Amnesty granted to Syrian deserters
BEIRUT -- Syrian President Bashar Assad granted general amnesty on Tuesday to army deserters both within Syria and outside the country.
The decree, published by state media, said the amnesty did not extend to "criminals" and those on the run, unless they surrender to authorities. Deserters in Syria have four months to do so; those abroad have six months.
Since Syria's conflict began in March 2011, tens of thousands of soldiers have either deserted their posts or defected and joined rebels trying to remove Assad from power. The amnesty also extends to draft dodgers.
The amnesty decree does not include army defectors, some of whom are still fighting against the government. Most of that fighting is taking place in the northwestern province of Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in the country.
The amnesty decree could encourage the return of refugees, some of whom have not been able to go back home because they were blacklisted for running away from military service. Other men have feared that if they return, they will be punished or forced to join the military.
More than 5 million Syrians have fled their country since the conflict began, while millions of others have been internally displaced.
American student detained in Israel
JERUSALEM -- Israel has detained an American graduate student at its international airport for the past week, accusing her of supporting a Palestinian-led boycott campaign against the Jewish state.
The case highlights Israel's concerns about the boycott movement and the efforts it has made to stop it. The grass-roots campaign has made significant inroads in recent years, particularly among university students and millennials.
Lara Alqasem, a 22-year-old U.S. citizen with Palestinian grandparents, landed at Ben-Gurion Airport on Oct. 2 with a valid student visa. But she was barred from entering the country and ordered deported, based on suspicions she is a boycott supporter.
An Israeli court has ordered that she remain in custody while she appeals. The weeklong detention is the longest anyone has been held in a boycott-related case.
Alqasem, from the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Southwest Ranches, Fla., is a former president of the University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. The group is a branch of the BDS movement, whose name comes from its calls for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel.
Man not charged in reporter's death
RUSE, Bulgaria -- Bulgarian authorities on Tuesday said they will release and won't charge a man taken into custody in connection with the slaying of Bulgarian television reporter Viktoria Marinova, whose body was found after she highlighted allegations of government corruption.
The man, who wasn't identified, would be freed "very shortly," said Teodor Atanassov, chief police officer of the northern town of Ruse. He declined to provide further details on the ongoing investigation.
Police are investigating the rape and slaying of Marinova, 30, who was strangled. Her body was found Saturday near the Danube River. Marinova hosted a show last month featuring two investigative journalists who were detained for their reports on suspected fraud involving European Union funds.
The Interior Ministry said late Monday that prosecutors had opened an investigation into GP Group, a private Bulgarian building company alleged to have misused the EU money, and froze $16 million of its assets.
Interior Minister Mladen Marinov and Bulgaria's leading organized crime investigator, Ivaylo Spiridonov, are part of the investigating team.
A Section on 10/10/2018