world briefs

Thousands of outraged Palestinians took to the streets of the West Bank on Thursday, joining funeral processions and demonstrations after two protesters were killed by Israeli troops and a Palestinian prisoner died of cancer in Israeli custody. The unrest clouded an upcoming visit by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and underscored the difficult task he faces as he tries to restart peace talks in the coming months. The demonstrations were among the largest in the West Bank in months, and came amid rising violence. But officials on both sides urged calm, and by nightfall, the situation appeared to be quieting down.

ARGENTINA

Death toll from flooding hits 57

Argentine police and soldiers Thursday searched house to house, in creeks and culverts and even in trees for bodies after floods killed at least 57 people in the province and city of Buenos Aires. As torrential rains stopped and the waters receded, the crisis shifted to guaranteeing public health and safety. Safe drinking water was in short supply, and more than a quarter-million people were without power, although authorities said most would get their lights back on overnight.

GAZA STRIP

U.N. closes food distribution centers

The United Nations says it is shuttering all its food distribution centers in the Gaza Strip after dozens of people stormed one of its compounds to protest the suspension of cash assistance to thousands of families. The U.N. said Thursday the centers will remain closed until it can get security assurances for its property and staff. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency assists Palestinian refugees and their descendants throughout the region. In Gaza, the agency runs dozens of schools and medical clinics and distributes food to many of the 1.7 million residents.

FRANCE

Senate takes up gay marriage debate

France’s upper house of parliament has begun debating a bill to legalize gay marriage and allow same-sex couples to adopt children, weeks after the divisive reform was passed in the lower house. The senate debate is scheduled to last until April 13. Last month the National Assembly approved the measure, putting France on track to join about a dozen mostly European nations that allow gay marriage. Opponents of the reform organized protests outside the senate building near Paris’ Luxembourg Gardens.

IRAQ

Ancient site unearthed in home of Abraham

British archaeologists said Thursday they have unearthed a sprawling complex near the ancient city of Ur in southern Iraq, home of the biblical Abraham. The structure, thought to be about 4,000 years old, probably served as an administrative center for Ur, around the time Abraham would have lived there before leaving for Canaan, according to the Bible. “This is a breathtaking find,” said Stuart Campbell of Manchester University’s Archaeology Department, who led the dig, because of its unusually large size — about 260 feet on each side. He said complexes of this size and age were rare.

CHINA

New bird flu strain causes fifth death

A middle-age man who transported poultry for a living and an unidentified person have died from a new strain of bird flu, bringing the death toll to five among 14 confirmed cases in China, the government and state media reported Thursday. The 48-year-old man, who died in Shanghai, is one of several among the infected believed to have had direct contact with fowl. Until recently, the virus, called H7N9, was not known to infect humans. The official Xinhua News Agency did not identify the fifth fatality, but said that person also died in Shanghai. It said the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed on Thursday that the H7N9 virus had been detected in pigeons at a market selling agricultural products in Shanghai.

ITALY

Police: Priest stole $5.1M from hospital

Italian police Thursday arrested a priest accused of pocketing $5.1 million from a Catholic hospital he ran and helping run up ($769 million in debt that forced it into bankruptcy. Italy’s financial police placed the Rev. Franco Decaminada, who until 2011 was the CEO of the IDI dermatological hospital in Rome, under house arrest. They also detained two other people while seizing a Tuscan villa that police say Decaminada built with stolen money.