Warring Hamas and Fatah factions in Gaza declared a cease-fire early Tuesday and said it would take effect within hours. Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar of Hamas said the truce would go into effect at 3 a.m. local time. Zahar said clashes that have taken more than 60 lives are to halt, security forces are to return to their bases, and suspects in killings are to be handed over. As he spoke, gunfire could still be heard in Gaza City.
Gay parade called ‘satanic’
Moscow’s mayor vowed Monday never to allow a gay rights parade, calling such events “satanic,” but activists said they would defy a city ban, as they did last year. Yury Luzhkov and city authorities barred activists from staging a parade last year, citing the threat of violence. “Moscow came under unprecedented pressure to sanction the gay parade, which can be described in no other way than as satanic,” he said in a TV interview.
Cult was target in battle
Iraqi officials said Monday that U.S.-backed Iraqi troops targeted a messianic cult called “Soldiers of Heaven” in a weekend battle that left 200 fighters dead, including the group’s leader, near Najaf. A military commander said hundreds of gunmen planned to disguise themselves as pilgrims and kill clerics on the holiest day of the Shiite calendar. U.S. and British jets played a major role in the fighting, dropping 500-pound bombs on the militants’ positions.
’06 world tourism sets record
World tourism broke all records in 2006 despite fears over terrorism, bird flu and rising oil prices, the UN tourism watchdog reported Monday. A total of 842 million international tourist arrivals were recorded last year, an increase of 4.5 percent, the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization said, citing preliminary data. Africa posted the biggest growth rate in 2006 at 8.1 percent, benefiting from travelers’ fears of terrorism elsewhere in the world.
AND FINALLY
@%&#! Lawmakers want to ban cursing
Watch your language. This is Shanghai. China’s financial center is considering a law against using swear words in public, according to reports Monday. The Shanghai Morning Post and a government spokesman said the ban could be included in a law targeting spitting, littering, smoking, jaywalking and other behavior deemed disruptive or anti-social.
