Palestinian authorities carried out their first executions since 2002 on Sunday, killing four convicted murderers in a campaign meant to halt a growing wave of lawlessness.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has made public order a top priority, but his forces have been severely weakened by internal rivalries, a lack of resources and years of fighting with Israel.
GAY ACTIVISTS DEFY BAN: More than 2,000 people defied a ban on a gay-rights rally in Warsaw, Poland, taking to the streets Saturday against the orders of the city’s conservative mayor.
GRANDPA GANG CONVICTED: Three men–age 74, 73 and 64–dubbed the “Grandpa Gang” because of their advanced ages were convicted Friday of robbing 14 German banks of more than $1.23 million. The sentences ranged from nine to 12 years in jail.
FEMALE CABINET MEMBER NAMED: American-educated professor and women’s rights activist Massouma al-Mubarak was named Kuwait’s first female Cabinet minister Sunday, a month after lawmakers granted women the right to vote and run for
Parliament.
BOMBS KILL 9: Four bomb blasts struck Iran on Sunday, killing a total of nine people and injuring at least 90 days before Iran’s presidential elections. The bombings were the deadliest in Iran in more than a decade.
POCAHONTAS
JEWELRY ON DISPLAY: A pair of mussel shell earrings believed to be among the only surviving possessions of Pocahontas went on display at a London museum Friday in their first public show since 1907.
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Compiled from news services and edited by Patrick Olsen (polsen@tribune.com) and Scott Kleinberg (skleinberg@tribune.com)
