World briefs

ISRAEL

Broad Hamas plot exposed

The Shin Bet security service said yesterday it had uncovered a vast Hamas network in the West Bank that was planning large-scale attacks against Israelis in Jerusalem. Shin Bet said it arrested more than 30 Hamas militants who planned to kidnap Israelis and attack Jerusalem's light rail and its largest soccer stadium, among other targets. It said the men were trained and recruited in Jordan and Turkey and that arms and explosives were recovered. The arrests come amid Israel's worst sustained bout of violence in nearly a decade. Eleven Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks over the past month, including five killed in an assault on a Jerusalem synagogue last week.

GREECE

600 refugees now ashore

Hour after hour, coast guard boats shuttled from the crippled freighter to a concrete pier, discharging a steady flow of humanity: Families with small children, black-clad elderly women, battered-looking youths with backpacks. For nearly 600 migrants, most of them fleeing the conflict in Syria, the harrowing journey on a smuggling ship that broke down in gale-force winds ended yesterday in the southern town of Ierapetra on the island of Crete. The Baris cargo ship, which lost engine power Tuesday in international waters, limped into Ierapetra after being towed for 40 hours by a Greek navy frigate.

FRANCE

From Russia, with love

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has a Christmas tree this year, thanks to an unusual patron: the Russian government. When the rector of Notre Dame told foreign embassies this month that the cathedral needed money for the huge tree, Russia was the first to offer. Ambassador Alexander Orlov said this week, "We thought this would be a rather nice present." He wouldn't say how much it cost. He insisted it has nothing to do with politics or a troubled deal to sell a French warship to Russia, stalled because of Ukraine. Still, Notre Dame officials promise to seek a Ukrainian-funded tree next year.