NPR News 2013-07-30 加文本

NPR News 2013-07-30

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

Secretary of State John Kerry is hosting Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams at the State Department this evening, relaunching a peace process that has been stalled for years. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports Kerry has made this a top priority.

Secretary Kerry has been to the Middle East six times and says he has spent many hours to revive peace talks. Now he says difficulty choices lie ahead for both sides, and he hopes they can reach reasonable compromises.

“I know the negotiations are going to be tough, but I also know that the consequences of not trying could be worse.”

The State Department says it expects Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate for at least nine months. Kerry has tapped a longtime expert on the region, former Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, to oversee this latest peace process. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

Days after dozens of Egyptian activists were killed in clashes with troops, diplomatic efforts are intensifying to end the crisis. Europe's top diplomat Catherine Ashton is backing Cairo for the second time since President Mohammed Morsy was deposed.

There is word of a possible raid on a Pakistani prison Dera Ismail Khan, where hundreds of militants are detained. The Associated Press cites local residents saying they heard a huge explosion and several smaller blasts.

Pope Francis reached out today to gay and lesbian Roman Catholics, saying no one should be judged or marginalized for their sexual orientation. But he reaffirmed church teaching that homosexual acts are a sin. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports the pope was speaking on a plane back to Rome from Rio de Janeiro in a long and candid conversation with reporters.

Francis defended gays from discrimination in what amounted to his first press conference since he was elected pope in March. “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will,” the pope said, “who am I to judge him.” But he also referred to church teaching, which says that while homosexual orientation is not sinful, homosexual acts are. Asked about the issue of women in the church, the pope said women cannot be limited to altar girls or the president of a charity, there must be more. However, Francis added on the issue of ordination of women the church has spoken and says “no, that door is closed.” The pope was referring to a document by John Pope II, which said the ban was part of the infallible teaching of the church. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

The FBI is confirming the arrest of 150 people rounded up in a nationwide sting targeting child prostitution. The FBI Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigative Division Ron Hosko says more than 100 minors are rescued, including one as young as 13.

“Experience has shown that the most vulnerable population for involvement in sex trafficking of children are those between the ages of 13 and 16 years, who are easily manipulated by those who might profit from a child's vulnerabilities.”

Separately, the US Senate is expected to hold a vote soon on James Comey's nomination to head the FBI. This is NPR.

There’s been another massive train collision in Europe for the second time under a week. In Switzerland, at least 40 people reportedly were hurt. The cause is still unknown. Meanwhile, today Spain mourned the deaths of 79 people killed in last week's high-speed derailment. Mass was held near the site of the tragedy.

Days after Lincoln Memorial was vandalized, two more Washington DC landmarks have been damaged. Green paint was again discovered in the Washington National Cathedral's historic Bethlehem Chapel and was also found on a statue outside the headquarters of the Smithsonian Institution.

A French prosecutor says the value of jewels stolen in the Riviera heist over the weekend is much higher than originally estimated. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports thieves made off with 136 million dollars worth of gems, not 53 million as originally reported. 

According to several French media outlets, one armed masked man successfully made off with the gems Sunday afternoon in broad daylight in what is being described as a good, old-fashioned jewel heist. It took place at the luxurious Carlton Hotel on the seafront in Cannes, the very spot where Alfred Hitchcock filmed his 1955 romantic thriller “To Catch a Thief” starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. The jewels were part of a collection by the jeweler Leviev displayed in the Carlton's lobby. French police say a full operation is underway to catch the culprit. In May, millions of dollars in jewels were stolen from the Novotel Hotel during the film festival at Cannes. No suspect has yet been identified in that robbery either. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.

Before the closing bell, Dow was down 37 points at 15,522.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.