Russia test fires new naval ICBM
MOSCOW – The Russian navy on Friday successfully test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile for a second time in as many months, proving its reliability following a troublesome development.
The Defense Ministry said the Alexander Nevsky nuclear submarine test-fired a Bulava missile from an underwater position in the Barents Sea. The missile’s warheads reached designated targets at a testing range in Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.
The Bulava suffered many failures during a decade of tests, raising doubts about the fate of Russia’s most expensive and ambitious weapons program since the Soviet collapse. But a series of recent launches has been successful and the Navy now has three Borei-class nuclear submarines armed with the Bulava.
Explosion kills several at mosque in Nigeria
KANO, Nigeria – An explosion tore through the central mosque in Nigeria’s second-largest city on Friday, and officials feared the casualty toll would be high.
Capt. Ikechukwu Eze said the Friday blast occurred at the main mosque in the city of Kano. Hundreds had gathered to listen to a sermon in a region terrorized by attacks from the militant group Boko Haram.
Witnesses say heavy smoke could be seen billowing in the sky from a long distance away. Immediately after the blasts, hundreds of angry youth took to the streets in riots, throwing stones, brandishes sticks and shouting at security officials. The palace of the Emir of Kano is near the central mosque. Palace officials told AP that the Emir, one of the highest ranking Islamic figures in Nigeria, is currently out of the country.
Eze did not immediately provide a precise death toll.
UN panel faults U.S. over use of force
GENEVA – Police brutality, military interrogations and prisons were among the top concerns of a UN panel’s report Friday that found the United States to be falling short of full compliance with an international anti-torture treaty.
The report by the UN Committee Against Torture, its first such review of the U.S. record since 2006, expressed concerns about allegations of police brutality and excessive use of force by law enforcement officials, particularly the Chicago Police Department’s treatment of blacks and Latinos.
Associated Press
