1. Israel sends experts to advise on Kenya standoff
JERUSALEM — Scarred by memories of a pair of attacks on Israeli targets in Africa a decade ago, Israel has dispatched a team of experts to its close ally Kenya to advise authorities on the bloody standoff at a Nairobi shopping mall.
While officials refuse to discuss the precise nature of the assistance, Israeli leaders have made it clear they believe the defeat of the al-Qaida militants behind the mall attack will have great meaning around the world.
“Israel is always ready to help other countries — other friendly countries — in combating terrorism,” Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s cabinet minister for strategic affairs, told The Associated Press. “I think that terrorism has become a threat to the entire world and therefore countries — United States, Israel and other Western countries — should cooperate.”
Israel has had strong commercial interests across Africa for decades. But only in recent years has it begun to view Africa, particularly eastern Africa, as being of vital strategic interest in the battle against Islamic extremists. One of those groups, Al-Shabab, has claimed responsibility for the Nairobi attack, which has left dozens dead.
Kenya has been a leading player in this Israeli effort, although it is certainly not alone. The two countries exchange intelligence, and Israel has provided security training to the eastern African country, according to experts and officials.
2. Assad: Syria committed to destroy chemical weapons
DAMASCUS, Syria — President Bashar al-Assad pledged in an interview broadcast Monday to honor an agreement to surrender Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons, but he said that rebels might try to block international arms inspectors from doing their work.
As battles continued across Syria, new Associated Press video of an attack Sunday night showed the regime’s helicopters dropping barrel bombs on opposition-held areas, creating chaotic scenes of destruction.
In a sign of worsening infighting among the rebels, a top al-Qaida commander in Syria was killed in an ambush by rival, Western-backed group — an assassination sure to raise tensions among factions seeking to topple the regime.
Assad’s comments came as world leaders gathered in New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly, where the use of chemical weapons in Syria’s civil war was high on the agenda.
The Syrian leader told Chinese state TV that Damascus is dedicated to implementing the agreement reached between Russia and the U.S. to surrender its chemical weapons to international control. Syria’s stockpile, he said, is “in safe areas and locations and under the full control of the Syrian Arab Army.”
Assad cautioned, however, that the rebels might block inspectors from reaching some of the locations, in order to frame the government.
3. Egypt Brotherhood ban opens way to wider crackdown
CAIRO — An Egyptian court on Monday ordered the banning of the Muslim Brotherhood and the confiscation of its assets, opening the door for authorities to dramatically accelerate a crackdown on the extensive network of schools, hospitals, charities and other social institutions that was the foundation of the group’s political power.
Security forces have already been moving against the Brotherhood’s social networks, raiding schools and hospitals run by the group since the military’s July 3 ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
The sweep points to the ambitions of Egypt’s new leaders to go beyond the arrests of top Brotherhood figures to strike a long-term, even mortal, blow to the group by hitting the pillars of its grassroots organization. Doing so could cripple the group’s political prospects far into the future.
“The plan is to drain the sources of funding, break the joints of the group and to dismantle podiums from which they deliver their message,” said one senior security official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss security agencies’ intentions.
Blurring its political and religious nature, the Brotherhood vaulted to election dominance in large part because of its multiple business interests that provide funding, as well as schools, mosques and powerful social institutions providing cheap medical care and services to millions of impoverished Egyptians. As a result, after the 2011 ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak, the Brotherhood swept parliament elections and lifted Morsi into office as the country’s first freely elected leader.
4. Microsoft unveils new Surface, fixes shortcomings
NEW YORK — Microsoft refreshed its Surface tablet computers Monday, giving them longer battery life and better comfort on laps as the software giant continues its transformation into a devices and services company.
The company said it tried to address many shortcomings of the first-generation Surface models, sales of which have been slow. Microsoft needs to boost its tablet business to make up for sales declines in traditional desktop and laptop computers. IDC is forecasting a nearly 10 percent decline in PC shipments this year. The research firm also said tablets will outsell traditional PCs in the last three months of the year.
The new tablet models come with a better built-in kickstand so they can rest more firmly on users’ laps while they sit on the couch. Microsoft is also making a docking station and a wireless mouse for business customers who need the mobility of tablets but also desire the traditional ways of using computers while in the office.
“We’ve definitely gotten a year smarter,” said Brian Hall, general manager of sales and marketing for Surface, in an interview.
The redesigned Surface tablets come at a time of transition for Microsoft. Earlier this month, Microsoft struck a deal to acquire Nokia’s phone and services business for $7.2 billion. The company also is searching for a new CEO to replace Steven A. Ballmer, who announced last month that he plans to retire within the next year.
5. Apple’s sales of new iPhones off to fast start
SAN FRANCISCO — Gadget lovers still can’t resist the iPhone.
Even as investors fret that Apple’s smartphone is losing its allure amid a bevy of enticing lower-priced alternatives that offer similar features, the iPhone’s call remains seductive.
In a Monday announcement, Apple Inc. said it sold 9 million units of its top-of-the-line iPhone 5S and less-expensive iPhone 5C during their first three days on sale. That trounced the performance of last year’s model, the iPhone 5, which sold 5 million units in its opening weekend.
The initial sales figures for Apple’s latest iPhone models provided the latest testament to the product’s enduring appeal more than six years after the debut of the first iPhone triggered a mobile computing revolution.
The iPhone 5S and 5C’s quick start also surpassed analyst forecasts that predicted Apple would sell somewhere from 6 million to 8 million models during the first weekend.
Monday’s positive news helped generate more interest in Apple’s stock. The shares gained $24.35, or more than 5 percent, to hit $491.76 in afternoon trading.
