ISRAEL: The high court yesterday upheld a decision by the military to prevent a Gazan Olympian from leaving the area to take part in a marathon in the West Bank.

It crushes 34-year-old Nader Masri’s hopes of participating in Friday’s marathon in Bethlehem.

Mr Masri, who competed in the 2008 Olympics, says he is disappointed because he hoped to compete against runners outside Gaza.

Israel severely restricts who can leave Gaza. The judges said they cannot interfere in military decisions but it should consider easing the travel ban.

GERMANY: The government has banned a group it says has raised millions of pounds for Lebanese militants Hezbollah, which the European Union classifies as a terrorist organisation.

Police raided 19 locations yesterday morning used by the Orphaned Children Project — Lebanon.

They seized 40 boxes of evidence, including “many kilos” of gold coins and two bank accounts containing about £86,000.

Deputy Interior Minister Emily Haber said the organisation had raised £2.7 million for the Hezbollah-linked Shahid Foundation since 2007.

CYPRUS: Europe’s top human rights official urged the government yesterday to stop holding women in detention centres and separating them from their children until their deportation.

Nils Muiznieks, the human rights commissioner for the 47-nation Council of Europe, said he was “very concerned” about the practice, which is “irreconcilable” with Cyprus’s legal obligations.

Amnesty International criticised Cyprus last month for routinely detaining migrants and asylum-seekers for months in harsh conditions prior to deportation.

UNITED NATIONS: Population agency head Babatunde Osotimehin said yesterday that the world must address why 8.7 million women aged 15 to 24 resort to unsafe abortions each year.

Mr Osotimehin also called on governments to act on the 200 million women in developing countries who want to prevent pregnancies but can’t get contraception.

And he also said countries must answer why one in three girls in developing countries are married before they turn 18, despite near universal commitment to ending child marriage.

CHINA: Rescuers struggled yesterday to pump water from a coalmine where 22 workers have been trapped for more than a day.

Narrow passageways and a lack of electricity at the Xiahaizi mine in Yunnan province were hampering rescue efforts.

Four miners escaped following the shaft’s flooding before dawn on Monday.

More than 500 people and three high-powered pumps were working at the mine yesterday, with more rescuers, pumps and electrical systems on their way.

MOLDOVA: Separatist leader Evgheny Shevciuk said yesterday that the Trans-Dniester region of Moldova wants independence — and eventually to join Russia.

Mr Shevciuk, who is president of the self-proclaimed republic, said the “Trans-Dniester people” want to be recognised as an independent state.

“Our dream is to have a successful, independent Trans-Dniester, together with Russia,” he said.

The region voted in a 2006 referendum to join Russia

CUBA: More than 100,000 healthcare jobs have been axed as part of President Raul Castro’s economic reforms.

The weekly labour newspaper Trabajadores reported on Monday that 109,000 posts had been cut.

Most of the job losses came in less-skilled positions such as ambulance drivers and hospital support staff.