Syrian gunmen kidnap 47 Iranians

Syrian gunmen kidnap 47 Iranians

BEIRUT

Gunmen snatched 47 Iranian pilgrims just outside Damascus on Saturday in a brazen attack that revealed the growing instability at the center of President Bashar Assad’s power.

The abduction came as Syrian troops moved to crush one of the last rebel-dominated neighborhoods in the capital, shelling the area heavily. No group immediately claimed responsibility, although Iranian state media blamed the rebels fighting the Assad regime.

The pilgrims were on a bus taking them from the suburb of Sayeda Zeinab, about 10 miles south of Damascus, to the airport to return home when they were kidnapped, according to the Iranian state news agency, IRNA.

Iran tests upgraded version of missile

TEHRAN, Iran

Iran claimed Saturday it has successfully test-fired an upgraded version of a short-range ballistic missile with improved accuracy, increasing the Islamic Republic’s capability to strike both land and naval targets.

Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said the solid-fueled Fateh-110 has a range of 185 miles. He claimed the weapon could strike with pin-point precision, making it the most accurate weapon of its kind in Iran’s arsenal.

NASA spacecraft speeds toward Mars

PASADENA, Calif.

After an 81/2-month voyage through space, NASA’s souped-up Mars spacecraft zoomed toward the red planet for what the agency hopes will be an epic touchdown.

The fiery punch through the tenuous Martian atmosphere at 13,000 mph tonight marks the beginning of “seven minutes of terror” as the Curiosity rover aims for a bull’s-eye landing inside a massive crater near the equator.

The latest landing attempt is more nerve-racking than in the past because NASA is testing out a new routine. Curiosity will steer itself part of the way and end on a dramatic note: dangling by cables until its six wheels touch the ground.

That’s the plan at least.

Jackson’s wife gives details on condition

CHICAGO

Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is suffering from debilitating depression and even collapsed at his home in Washington two months ago, his wife said in an interview published Saturday that revealed new details about his secretive leave of absence.

Sandi Jackson, who is a Chicago City Council member, told the Chicago Sun-Times that contrary to rumors, her husband did not try to kill himself and was not being treated for alcohol or drug addiction.

“No, no, none of that is true,” she said.

The Chicago Democrat and son of civil-rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson has been off the job for nearly eight weeks.

Afghan parliament votes to oust officials

KABUL, Afghanistan

The Afghan parliament voted Saturday to dismiss the country’s defense and interior ministers, a move that threatens to throw the country’s security apparatus into confusion as foreign forces withdraw.

The vote demanded the dismissal of two of President Hamid Karzai’s key security lieutenants: Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, one of the top Afghan officials most trusted by Washington, and Interior Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi.

Associated Press