Israeli forces kill 4 armed Gazans near border: army

23:13, August 10, 2019

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  Gazans struggle to protect antiquities from neglect, looting

  In this July 16, 2019 photo, an ancient bust of King David is displayed inside the historical Pasha Palace run by Gazas Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, in Gaza City. (Photo: AP)Walid al-Aqqad’s Gaza home would be the envy of many an antiquities collector.Pieces of Corinthian columns greet visitors in the backyard. Inside, hundreds of ancient pots and other artifacts hang on the walls or are arranged helter-skelter on shelves.They are remnants of five millennia of Gaza’s history, from the Bronze Age to the Islamic caliphates and on down to the years of Ottoman and British rule in the 20th century.A sliver of land on the Mediterranean, Gaza was a major trade route between Egypt and the Levant going back to ancient times. But decades of uprisings, war and political turmoil have inflicted a heavy toll on its rich archaeological heritage, exposing it to looting and destruction.The Islamic militant group Hamas seized Gaza in 2007 from forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. In response, Egypt and Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza that has left the territory isolated and increasingly impoverished. The Palestinians say the closures have also hindered excavations and restricted experts’ access to new discoveries.Hamas has done little to protect Gaza’s antiquities and in some cases actively destroys them. In 2017, Hamas authorities leveled large parts of Tel Es-Sakan, the remains of a 4,500-year-old Bronze Age city, to make way for construction projects.Ayman Hassouna, professor of history and archaeology at Gaza’s Islamic University, blames Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas equally for not protecting the territory’s cultural heritage. He says Israel confiscated artifacts from archaeological digs in the decades it occupied Gaza and did little to prevent antiquities trafficking. Palestinian authorities governing Gaza since 1995 have “attacked many archaeological sites — either intentionally or not,” he said.He also blamed a lack of a...

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  National Day Parade rehearsal held in Singapore

  Parachutists of the Singapore Armed Forces' Red Lions fall from the sky during National Day Parade rehearsal held in Singapore on Aug. Singapore will celebrate its independence on Aug.

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  Attacker kills 4 in series of stabbings in California cities

  (Photo: AP)A man “full of anger” stabbed, slashed and robbed his way across two Southern California cities in a bloody rampage that killed four people and wounded two others who were apparently targeted at random, authorities said.The 33-year-old man from the city of Garden Grove carried out violent attacks and robberies at area businesses and killed two men at his own apartment complex during the two-hour wave of violence Wednesday, police said.He was arrested as he walked out of a convenience store in the neighboring city Santa Ana, dropping a knife and a gun he had taken from a security guard he had just killed.Authorities planned to release his name Thursday afternoon.The violence appeared to be random and the only known motives seem to be “robbery, hate, homicide,” Garden Grove police Lt. Carl Whitney told reporters.“We know this guy was full of anger and he harmed a lot of people tonight,” Whitney said Wednesday.The attacker and four of the victims were described as Hispanic, while two victims were described as Caucasian, police said in a statement. Initially, all had been described as Hispanic.The two people who were wounded were listed in stable condition Wednesday night and were expected to survive.One of the dead was identified by his son as a hard-working immigrant originally from Romania.Erwin Hauprich said in a telephone interview that his father, Helmuth Hauprich, 62, called him Wednesday afternoon and told him his Garden Grove apartment had been burglarized. The father said his passport, green card, sword collection and even a dining table were taken.Erwin Hauprich said his father never called back and he went to check on him after hearing there had been a stabbing at the complex.A police officer told him that Helmuth Hauprich had been taken to the hospital, where he died, the son said. He said he was told his father’s roommate was killed in the apartment.A body was removed from the complex by stretcher late Thursday morning.Erwin Hauprich said his fa...