1 Kabul bombing: A suicide bomber detonated a car full of explosives on a busy road in downtown Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least seven people and injuring 36, the Afghan Interior Ministry said. The blast occurred adjacent to a busy taxi stand and across the street from a police station. Most of the dead and wounded appeared to be civilians, authorities said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
2 Pakistan offensive: Pakistani military jets killed 30 militants near the Afghan border on Wednesday, an army statement said. The air strikes in the Khyber tribal region’s Tirah Valley pounded several militant hideouts, destroying two arms and ammunition depots, the army said. It’s the latest in a days-long army offensive in the area, largely controlled by a militant group called Lashkar-e-Islam, or Army of Islam, which recently announced its support for the Pakistani Taliban. The Pakistani Taliban and its allies operate on both sides of the porous border. The army said its operation killed 80 militants over the weekend. Seven Pakistani soldiers also died.
3 Priest sentenced: A Polish court on Wednesday sentenced a former priest convicted of abusing minors in the Dominican Republic and Poland to seven years in prison. A court in Wolomin, near Warsaw, found Wojciech Gil guilty of abusing six minors in the Caribbean nation between 2009 and 2013 and two in Poland in 2000-2001. The charges also included possession of child pornography and illegal possession of a gun. Gil, 37, had pleaded not guilty, but sought a settlement and a seven-year prison term, which avoided a full trial. That was accepted by prosecutors. The court also ordered Gil to pay $41,000 in atonement to the victims.
4 War crimes: The Special Court for Sierra Leone denied former Liberian President Charles Taylor’s request to serve his 50-year sentence for war crimes in Rwanda, rather than Britain. Taylor was convicted in 2012 of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for aiding murderous rebels in Sierra Leone’s civil war. Taylor argued that detention in Britain violates his rights because the visa process will make it nearly impossible for his family to visit. The court denied his request Wednesday, saying Britain’s denial of his family’s visa application did not violate his rights. It said that his wife simply had not met visa requirements and had ignored offers to help her to reapply.
5 Typhoid outbreak: An outbreak of typhoid fever has infected hundreds of people in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, and looks likely to spread as the rainy season gets under way, a senior health official said on Wednesday. At least 4,000 suspected cases of typhoid fever have been reported, 400 of which have been confirmed, according to Uganda’s Ministry of Health.
6 Amanda Knox case: Italy’s high court took up the appeal of Amanda Knox’s murder conviction Wednesday, considering the fate of the American and her Italian former boyfriend in the brutal 2007 murder of Knox’s British roommate. So many journalists and trial-watchers were on hand for the final arguments in the murder of Meredith Kercher that the judges moved the hearing into the largest available courtroom. The presiding judge said a ruling may not come down until Friday. The judges could decide to confirm the convictions and 28-year sentence for Knox and 25-year sentence for her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, which would then raise extradition questions for Knox since she is free in the U.S.
7 Female gains: The percentage of women on the boards of Britain’s top companies is on track to meet a target of 25 percent by the end of the year, a study tracking female achievement said Wednesday. The report from the Cranfield International Center for Women Leaders said that 23.5 percent of the board members of companies listed on the United Kingdom's main stock index, the FTSE 100, are women, up from 20.7 percent last year. Some 263 directorships are held by women.
Chronicle News Services