Israel
Police fatally shoot man, prevent stabbing attackJERUSALEM — Israeli police said officers shot and killed a man Saturday after he allegedly tried to stab a soldier outside Jerusalem’s Old City.
The suspect, who was killed before he was able to stab the soldier, was not immediately identified but was believed to have been Palestinian.
Amateur footage showed a man in blue jeans and a black jacket lying still on the ground at the Lion’s Gate, on the eastern side of the Old City.
Israeli medics said that Israeli security forces, while firing on the suspect, had lightly wounded a 42-year-old woman in the leg. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the attacker was armed with a knife and approached an officer who responded to the attack.
The Old City is home to holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, including the flashpoint compound known as the Al-Aqsa mosque to Muslims and the Temple Mount to Jews.
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Pakistan
Forces say 5 militants killed; 2 more arrested
PESHAWAR — Pakistani security forces said Saturday that five suspected militants were killed in an overnight raid in the country’s northwest, and that two other militants were arrested in a separate operation.
Senior counter-terrorism officer Tahir Khan said the shootout took place at a compound in the working-class suburb of Mathra near Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
He said the militants belonged to a banned group and that security forces found suicide vests, sub-machine guns and other weapons at the scene.
Two militant commanders from the Sajna group of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban, were captured in a second Friday-night raid, according to counter-terrorism officer Mohammad Ajmal.
The operation took place in Tank district, which serves as a gateway to the mountainous South Waziristan district, a former militant stronghold.
France
Country begins closing its oldest nuclear plant
PARIS — France started closing its oldest nuclear plant, at Fessenheim, on the border with Germany, by shutting down one of its reactors Saturday.
French operator EDF said the 43-year-old reactor was unplugged Saturday around 2 a.m., in a “very emotional moment.” The process went well, EDF said.
The second reactor is set to be shut down in June.
Local media reported that about 100 people gathered on Friday evening in the little town of Fessenheim to protest against the closure of the plant, which provides about 2,000 direct and indirect jobs in the region.
Germany has long called for the closing of the plant, which started producing power in 1977.
The move is part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to re-balance nuclear-produced energy and electricity derived from renewable sources.
Wire reports