Briefs, March 6, 2013

British envoy heckled by Palestine students

RAMALLAH - Dozens of Palestinian students at a West Bank university heckled a British diplomat and attacked his car, preventing him from speaking on campus. British Consul General Vincent Fean was mobbed by students at Bir Zeit University who chanted and held banners protesting what they said was Britain's support for the establishment of Israel and its policies. Campus security guards shielded Fean from several dozen protesters as the diplomat made his way to his car before being driven off. Reuters

Rebels battle Syrian loyalists in Raqqa

BEIRUT - Syrian rebels battled pockets of regime loyalists in the northern city of Raqqa after capturing the governor of the northern province in fierce clashes overnight, activists said. Rebels pushed government troops from most of Raqqa, a city of some 500,000 people on the Euphrates River. If the opposition manages to wrest all of Raqqa from the government, it would mark the first time an entire city has fallen into opposition hands. AP

German party's bid to thwart ban is rejected

BERLIN - Germany's highest court said it had rejected a request from the main far-right party to declare it constitutionally legal, an application that appeared intended to pre-empt officials' attempts to ban the group. Germany's 16 state governments plan to submit a case to the Federal Constitutional Court, calling for a ban on the National Democratic Party. They argue the party, which has no seats in the national parliament but gets public funding because it holds seats in two state legislatures, promotes a racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic agenda in violation of the constitution. AP

Mursi may put army in charge of Port Said

CAIRO - The Egyptian president is considering giving the military full control of the restive Suez Canal city of Port Said after days of deadly street clashes stoked by riot police's excessive use of force. Mohammed Mursi met his security chief and top military officers to discuss putting the military in charge to defuse the cycle of violence that has gripped the city, officials said. The latest violence in Port Said, which erupted on Sunday, has killed at least three civilians and three policemen. AP

Russia to charge US investor over share buy

MOSCOW - Russia's Interior Ministry is preparing to bring criminal charges against US-born investor Bill Browder for illegally buying US$3 billion in shares in state-controlled gas giant Gazprom. Browder has pushed for the prosecution of those responsible for the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who had worked for Browder's Hermitage Capital. Magnitsky died in jail in 2009 after his pancreatitis went untreated. AP