GAZA CITY (AFP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the international community on Wednesday to “halt Israeli aggression” after nine Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops.

Monarch condoles Mubarak, writer’s family CAIRO — Naguib Mahfouz, the first Arab writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, died Wednesday at the age of 94, bringing tributes from literary figures and world leaders for an author who became a symbol of liberalism in the face of extremism.

VIENNA (AP) — A defiant Iran continued to enrich uranium up to two days before the UN Security Council’s deadline Thursday for Tehran to freeze such activity or face the threat of sanctions, UN and European officials said Wednesday.