Israeli, Palestinian killed in West Bank

Jerusalem

An Israeli soldier and a Palestinian militant were killed in separate army raids in the West Bank on Wednesday, and Hamas warned after the killing of one of its operatives Tuesday that it would not renew a cease-fire due to expire at the end of the year.

More than a week of violence has severely shaken the truce and dimmed hopes for a revival of peace efforts after Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September.

Israeli raids and airstrikes have killed 15 Palestinians, both militants and civilians, after a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed five Israelis. The militant Islamic Jihad group said the bombing was revenge for Israel's killing of one of its West Bank commanders.

On Wednesday the first Israeli serviceman was killed in action since the Gaza withdrawal. The soldier, Staff Sgt. Yonatan Evron, 20, was shot during the arrest of a Hamas militant at a house in the village of Marka near Jenin in the northern West Bank, the army said.

Belfast, Northern Ireland

First arrests made in $47 million heist

Police made their first arrests in last year's $47 million bank robbery, one of Europe's largest ever, officials said Wednesday. The theft has been blamed on the IRA and tarnished its image, despite repeated denials.

The arrest of a 30-year-old man Wednesday in Belfast came a day after two others were taken into custody in the city of Kilcoo, police said.

The IRA-linked Sinn Fein political party protested the arrests, claiming they were politically motivated. The alleged involvement of the IRA in the December robbery was a setback for Sinn Fein, which represents most of the Catholics in the province, in negotiations over a power-sharing agreement.

Since the robbery, the IRA has declared that it has disarmed and scrapped its hidden weapons stockpiles — moves that have raised hopes of reviving a joint Catholic-Protestant administration.

Bangkok, Thailand

Bombings kill one, knock out power

Several bombs exploded in a key city in southern Thailand Wednesday night, killing one attacker and knocking out electricity, police said.

No one immediately took responsibility for the blasts, but police suspected they were linked to a surge of violence by Islamic separatists.

More than 1,100 people have died since a once-dormant separatist movement re-emerged nearly two years ago in the three southern provinces, the only ones with Muslim majorities in predominantly Buddhist Thailand.

Also

Honduras flooding: Still reeling from hurricanes Stan, Wilma and Beta last month, Honduras evacuated hundreds of people from its Atlantic coast Wednesday as intense rains caused more flooding in the area.

Tsunami victim exhumed: The body of a Swedish woman killed in last year's tsunami was exhumed from a Muslim graveyard in Thailand after authorities discovered it had been incorrectly identified, a Swedish official said Wednesday.

Qatar's first church: Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani has donated a plot of land to the Anglican community to build the first church in the Gulf Arab state, officials said Wednesday.

China's space plan: China plans to put three men into space within the next two years as it looks ahead to an orbiting space station and a mission to the moon, state media said today. China last month successfully completed its second manned space mission.

Compiled from the Associated Press, Reuters and Chicago Tribune