West Bank: Six Palestinians killed in scattered violence

A Palestinian militant, whose clan has been targeted previously by Israeli security forces, was killed Sunday when a public telephone exploded in his hand one of six Palestinians to die in a day of violence, Palestinians said.

Mohammed Shtewie Abayat was speaking on the phone just outside the Beit Jalla Hospital near the West Bank city of Bethlehem when it blew up, killing him instantly, according to doctors. Relatives said he belonged to a militia linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement.

There were concerns that the killing of Abayat could lead some Palestinians to seek retaliation.

In other violence Sunday, Palestinians said a 4-year-old boy was fatally shot during what the Israeli army described as a firefight when troops entered the Rafah refugee camp to search for weapons-smuggling tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip.

Also, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Daniel Kurtzer, sent a strongly worded message to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office over the weekend, saying Israel had not met promises to ease tough restrictions imposed on the Palestinians, a diplomatic source said.

California: After six months of calm, gasoline prices turn upward

Retail gasoline prices jumped almost 3 cents during the past two weeks, the first major spike in prices in six months, an industry survey indicated.

The average price for gas nationwide, including all grades and taxes, was about $1.4859, up 2.93 cents from the previous survey Sept. 27, according to the Lundberg Survey of 8,000 stations nationwide.

Continued strong crude oil prices, plus higher demand at the pump, contributed to the rise in prices, analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday in Camarillo.

“Fears about the Middle East crisis have kept crude oil prices high,” she said, adding that travelers’ continued reluctance to fly was also a factor.

Until the latest survey, the price of gasoline had remained steady since April 5, Lundberg said.

The national weighted average price of gasoline, including taxes, at self-serve pumps Friday was about $1.45 a gallon for regular, $1.55 for mid-grade and $1.64 for premium.

New York City: Mayor marches in Bronx, will lunch in Manhattan

Mayor Michael Bloomberg marched with local officials in the Bronx on Sunday, a day before the city’s main Columbus Day parade which he planned to sit out because organizers would not allow him to walk with two cast members from “The Sopranos.”

“It’s great to be in the Bronx, and it’s great to be at a parade where you can march with all your friends,” Bloomberg said Sunday.

Organizers of today’s parade in Manhattan say the hit HBO show perpetuates negative stereotypes of Italian-Americans.

The Columbus Citizens Foundation had sought a federal court order banning Bloomberg from bringing Dominic Chianese and Lorraine Bracco to the annual celebration. Chianese plays New Jersey mob boss Junior Soprano; Bracco plays a psychiatrist treating mobster Tony Soprano.

After both sides agreed that organizers had the right to invite or disinvite anyone to their parade, the judge said he had nothing to rule on.

Foundation vice president Frank Fusaro said they still wanted Bloomberg to march by himself. But the mayor said he would instead have lunch with the actors today.