NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Israeli raid: The Israeli military struck artillery positions in Syria on Tuesday after a projectile from that country’s civil war hit the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan Heights, but denied a Syrian claim that Syrian forces shot down two Israeli aircraft. The incident was the fifth case since last week in which fighting in Syria has spilled over into Israel. Israel has largely remained on the sidelines of the fighting, but has carried out reprisals on Syrian positions when errant fire landed in Israel.
2 Beheading videos: An Austrian court has sentenced a man to two years in prison for reposting videos online of beheadings by the Islamic State. The court convicted the 18-year-old of belonging to a terrorist organization. The man was not identified in keeping with Austrian privacy laws. His defense argued that he was traumatized as a child by fighting in Chechnya. The Austria Press Agency cited the offender as saying he was radicalized in prison while serving a 14-month sentence for robbery and other offenses.
3 Terrorism charges: Three women accused of being part of an Islamic State group cell that was planning imminent attacks in France will remain in custody after a judge confirmed preliminary charges of terrorism, Paris prosecutors said Tuesday. The three women were charged with criminal terrorist association linked to the discovery of an abandoned car filled with gas cylinders near Notre Dame Cathedral and to another pending attack. The women identified as Ines M., 19, Sarah H., 23, and Amel S., 39, were arrested Thursday in a police operation during which two of them were accused of attacking police officers with knives. Ines M. and Sarah H. were also charged with attempted terrorist murders of public officers and Amel S. with being an accomplice to those attempts, the office said.
4 Tanzania earthquake: The number of people killed following a rare earthquake in the Lake Victoria region over the weekend has risen to 17, a Tanzanian official said Tuesday. The 5.7-magnitude earthquake also left 252 people injured and 840 families homeless, George Simbachawene, the minister of state in the office of the president, told the National Assembly.
5 Armenia premier: Armenia’s president appointed a former executive of a subsidiary of Russian gas company Gazprom to be the country’s new prime minister. Karen Karapetyan, 53, is also a former mayor of the capital, Yerevan. The president’s office announced his appointment Tuesday. The previous premier resigned last week in order to give way to a coalition government in a widely expected move following a violent standoff at a police station in the capital. Several dozen armed men captured the police compound in Yerevan in July, demanding freedom for an opposition activist and the government’s ouster. The standoff galvanized Armenia’s protest movement, triggering rallies in support of the gunmen and occasional clashes with police.
6 Plastic money: The times they have a-changed: Britain’s new money is plastic. The new 5 pound bill introduced Tuesday is strong polymer and can handle a trip through the washing machine without shredding like the paper cash it’s replacing. It’s got the latest anticounterfeit and security features and Bank of England officials insist it will be cleaner, safer and stronger than paper money. The portrait on the new fiver depicts wartime leader Winston Churchill, still one of Britain’s most revered statesmen.