Briefly World: Israeli synagogue vandalised with graffiti

Writer sues Travolta for destroying credibility

LOS ANGELES: Robert Randolph,author of Youll Never Spa in This Town Again,about alleged celebrity sex encounters in massage parlours and spas here,has filed a suit against John Travolta,insisting he defamed him. Randolph claims Travolta alleged the writer had mental issues,reported TMZ online.

One of its warplanes missing off Syria: Turkey

ANKARA: A Turkish air force jet went down in Syrian waters on Friday,but Turkeys prime minister said he could not confirm media reports that it had been shot down by Syrian forces.

Man sentenced for online South Park threat

ALEXANDRIA: A Muslim convert,Jesse Curtis Morton,from Brooklyn was sentenced Friday to nearly 12 years in prison for posting online threats against the creators of the South Park television show and others he deemed enemies of Islam.

Punjabi commonly spoken by UK pupils

London: A million students have English as their second language while Punjabi is most commonly spoken among those whose first language isnt English,the Mail Online said quoting official figures.

Pak obstructing US diplomats deliberately

The US has said that Pakistan government is deliberately,wilfully and systematically harassing and obstructing US diplomats in the country,marking a new low in the already strained ties between the two nations.

The harassment and obstruction has increased and reached new levels of intensity,said a State Department report,which has urged the US to take the issue up at bilateral talks. Official Pakistani obstructionism and harassment,an endemic problem in Pakistan,has increased to the point where it is significantly impairing mission operations, said an internal report of the US State Department Office of Inspector General Thursday. The 82-page report cited cases of harassment as delays in getting visas,blocking shipments for aid,denials of in-country travel requests and surveillance and interference with mission employees and contractors.