Storm brings snow to parts of Mideast
ANJAR, Lebanon – Snow fell in parts of the Middle East on Wednesday as a powerful winter storm swept through the region, killing two Syrian refugees in Lebanon and forcing thousands who have fled their country’s civil war to huddle for warmth in tents in refugee camps.
In Syria, the guns fell silent as snow fell in the cities of Damascus, and Aleppo and government warplanes remained on the ground because of bad visibility.
The storm dumped rain and hail on Lebanon’s coast and heavy snows in the mountains and central Bekaa Valley.
Snow also accumulated in the Golan Heights and northern Israel. Jerusalem schools closed ahead of a forecast warning of 10 inches of snowfall.
Cuba reportedly frees 3 political prisoners
HAVANA – Three Cuban political prisoners were freed Wednesday, and a leading human rights advocate said he believed their liberation was part of a U.S.-Cuban deal to release 53 dissidents.
The head of Cuba’s Human Rights and Reconciliation Commission, Elizardo Sanchez, told The Associated Press that 19-year-old twins Diango Vargas Martin and Bianko Vargas Martin were released without any of the judicial procedures that normally precede the liberation of those held in politically related cases. He said later that Enrique Figuerola Miranda had just been freed under similar circumstances.
Associated Press
