Nation & World News Briefly

Netanyahu: Hold out for better Iran deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged U.S. lawmakers to hold out for a better Iran deal and said there was no way to compensate Israel if the nuclear agreement goes through.

“I think the right thing to do is merely not to go ahead with this deal. There are many things to be done to stop Iran’s aggression and this deal is not one of them,” Netanyahu said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” as he continued a string of U.S. media interviews denouncing the deal reached on Tuesday between Iran and six major powers.

The deal must be reviewed by Congress, where lawmakers will have up to 82 days to decide whether to reject it.

The Israeli prime minister believes that the nuclear agreement reached in Vienna to curb Iran’s nuclear program does not prevent but only puts off Iran from becoming a nuclear armed nation, and that relaxing the strict sanctions regime gives it billions of dollars to do so.

Briton jailed for Taliban support released

LONDON (Reuters) — A British man who was last year sentenced by a U.S. court to 12-1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to running a website that supported the Taliban, has been released, his family said on Sunday.

Babar Ahmad’s sentence included 10 years he had already served. U.S. prosecutors had said his crimes included recruiting fighters for the Taliban and al Qaeda in the run-up to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York City and Washington.

But the judge who sentenced Ahmad said she had not given him the maximum penalty of 25 years as she did not believe he had been directly involved with al Qaeda and was not at risk of being involved in future crimes.

“We, the family of Babar Ahmad, are delighted to announce that … Babar has returned home to us after 11 years in prison,” his family said in a statement.

Ahmad was extradited from Britain in 2012 along with a second man, Syed Talha Ahsan. Both were charged in Connecticut as authorities argued they used an Internet service provider in the state to run at least one of their websites.

Bodies of woman, children found

CHICAGO (Reuters) — The decomposing bodies of a woman and three children have been discovered in a home on Chicago’s South Side, police and local media said on Sunday.

The bodies of the unidentified people were discovered at about 8:30 p.m. local time on Saturday in the East Chatham neighborhood, according to the Chicago Police Department.

A police dispatch said the department was in the early stages of investigating the deaths and could not release details, including the identities of the deceased.

Local authorities told the Chicago Tribune the bodies were decomposed and were those of three children and a woman, who may have suffered head trauma. The kitchen in the one-story red brick house was charred, the newspaper reported.

Euro zone government creation urged

PARIS (Reuters) — French President Francois Hollande on Sunday called for the creation of a euro zone government and for citizens to renew their faith in the European project, which has been weakened by the Greek crisis.

Reviving an idea originally put forward by former European Commission chief Jacques Delors, Hollande proposed “a government of the euro zone (with) a specific budget as well as a parliament to ensure its democratic control”.

The French president said the 19 member states of the euro zone had chosen to join the monetary union because it was in their interests and no one had “taken the responsibility of getting out of it”.

“This choice calls for a strengthened organization, an advance guard of the countries who will decide on it,” he said.

The euro zone’s members are currently united in the informal body the Eurogroup, which comprises each country’s finance minister, presided over by Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

Greek banks were expected to reopen Monday.

Surfer fights off shark attack

JEFFREY’S BAY, South Africa (Reuters) — Australian surfer Mick Fanning survived a shark attack in Sunday’s final of the World Surfing League’s J-Bay Open, fighting off the circling predator with his fists.

Fanning, three-times world surfing champion, was paddling out to ride his first wave when the unidentified species of shark surfaced next to him, knocking the 34-year-old off his board.

The Australian managed to fight off the predator, hitting it on its back before it swam off, leaving him shaken as he waited for a support boat to return him safely to shore.

The incident, which was broadcast on live TV, led to the postponement of the final against compatriot Julian Wilson.

“I was just sitting there and I felt something just get stuck in my leg rope, and I was kicking trying to get it away,” Fanning told Fox Sports. “I punched him in the back”.

“I instantly just jumped away. It kept coming at my board and I was kicking and screaming. I just saw fins. I was waiting for the teeth.”

Organizers have not yet decided when the final will resume, though it will be Monday at the earliest.