NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Globe
_1 Stone throwers: Israel approved harsher measures Thursday to combat the practice of stone throwing amid a recent surge in Palestinian violence, widening the rules of engagement for police and vowing to raise minimum penalties for offenders to four years’ imprisonment. The measures, approved by the Security Cabinet, allow police officers to fire live ammunition when there is an “immediate and concrete danger to police or civilians,” according to a government statement. The development came as a Palestinian man died on Thursday from his wounds after being shot by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank last week.
_2 Liberia security: The head of the U.N. mission in Liberia says it will hand over national security responsibilities to the government in June 2016. Special Representative Farid Zarif said the force, at more than 3,000 now, would go down to about 1,240 by June. The U.N. mission was deployed to Liberia in 2003 and had more than 15,000 personnel in the country at one point. Liberia is currently recruiting and training more police, immigration and military personnel, which are thinly spread across the West African nation.
_3 “Mona Lisa” model: Italian experts say they can’t say with certainty whether bones dug up in a Florence church are those of a Renaissance-era noblewoman some believe was the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.” Researchers told journalists at a news conference in Florence Thursday that testing found one of three pieces of remains compatible with the period in which Lisa Gherardini died, and that historical documents indicate she was buried in a Florence convent in 1542.
_4 Picasso painting: A $ 15 million Picasso painting is going back on display Thursday in the Pompidou center museum in Paris after a long and unusual journey. “La Coiffeuse” (“The Hairdresser”) disappeared from a French storage room more than a decade ago, then turned up in a package from Belgium to New York last year. A customs label called it a $37 Christmas gift. The investigation into who sent the package and how the painting was stolen is still under way. The small artwork, which was painted in 1911, endured minor damages and needs restoring.
_5 Elton John to meet Putin: Russian President Vladimir Putin has called British musician Elton John and agreed to meet him. This time it’s for real. After John posted a message on Instagram last week, thanking Putin for calling him, two Russian pranksters admitted that it was them who had given him a call. Earlier this month, John criticized Russia’s law against gay “propaganda” and comments by Putin suggesting that gay people prey on children.
_6 Pricey diamond: A pink diamond the size of a postage stamp is going on the auction block, and it’s estimated to bring as much as $28 million. The 16.08carat gem is poised to set a record for a cushion-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond when Christie’s offers it at its Magnificent Jewels sale in Geneva on Nov. 10.