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Hamas reports progress on prisoner swap

By TIMES WIRES
Published January 1, 2007

A Palestinian group involved in holding an Israeli soldier who was captured in late June said on Sunday that significant progress had been made toward a prisoner exchange that would release him. A spokesman for the military wing of Hamas, Abu Ubaida, suggested that a deal could be close for the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, captured by Hamas and two other militant groups. The government of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert played down the prospect of quick results. Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin said a release was not imminent.

Woman, 67, gives birth, hospital says

A 67-year-old woman has given birth to twin sons in the northern city of Barcelona, Spain, a hospital official said. The woman, whose identity had not been revealed, gave birth Friday by caesarean section, according to an official at Sant Pau hospital who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of hospital policy. The woman had undergone in vitro fertilization abroad, the official said. A 66-year-old Romanian woman, Adriana Iliescu, gave birth to a daughter in Bucharest in January 2005.

Ban on smoking in public starts

Hong Kong will become a mostly smoke-free city in public places starting today when a ban comes into force, an unusual prohibition in Asia. The ban covers restaurants, workplaces, schools and karaoke lounges, and extends to outdoor places such as beaches, sports grounds, and large swaths of public parks. Singapore has a similar law.

2 oldest nuclear reactors are shut

The two oldest commercial nuclear power stations in the world were closed down Sunday after 40 years of service, the British Nuclear Group said. Reactors at Dungeness A, southeast of London, and Sizewell A, in eastern England, were being shut down over a period of several hours, the group said in a statement. The reactors had reached the end of their life cycle and were less efficient than modern plants.

Elsewhere

JAPAN: Courts sentenced 44 people to death in 2006, the largest number in at least 26 years, amid a toughening of sentences for violent crimes, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said Sunday.

TURKEY: At least 1,413 Turks spent the first day of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha in emergency wards Sunday after stabbing themselves or suffering other injuries while trying to sacrifice startled animals, the Anatolia news agency reported.

[Last modified January 1, 2007, 00:40:31]