Criminal investigation opened into train wreck
LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec – Canadian authorities said Tuesday they have opened a criminal investigation into the fiery wreck of a runaway oil train as the death toll climbed to 15, with dozens more bodies feared buried in the blackened, burned-out ruins of this small town.
Quebec police Inspector Michel Forget said that investigators have “discovered elements” that have led to a criminal probe. He gave no details but ruled out terrorism.
The death toll rose with the discovery of two more bodies Tuesday. About three dozen more people were missing.
Car bomb rocks Hezbollah stronghold
BEIRUT – A powerful car bomb exploded in a Hezbollah stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday, wounding at least 53 people in the most troubling sign yet that Syria’s civil war is beginning to consume its smaller neighbor.
The blast in the heart of the Shiite militant group’s bastion of support raised the worrying specter of Lebanon being pulled into the violent Sunni-Shiite struggle in the region, with sectarian killings similar to those plaguing Syria and Iraq.
The Syrian conflict, now in its third year, is whipping up sectarian fervor. Sunni-Shiite tensions have risen sharply, particularly since Hezbollah raised its profile by openly fighting alongside President Bashar Assad’s forces. Lebanese Sunnis support the rebels fighting to topple Assad.
Roadside bomb kills 17 in western Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan – A roadside bomb struck a motorcycle-drawn cart carrying women and children between two villages Tuesday in western Afghanistan, killing all 17 people on board, a grim reminder of the dangers facing Afghan civilians ahead of the 2014 withdrawal of foreign combat troops.
International troops already have pulled back into a largely advisory and training role as they try to prepare Afghan soldiers and police to take over their own security. That effort has been marred by a series of attacks by Afghan troops or insurgents disguised in their uniforms.
In the latest so-called insider attack, an Afghan soldier opened fire on Slovakian troops in the southern city of Kandahar, killing one and wounding six others.
WikiLeaks: Snowden hasn’t picked Venezuela
WikiLeaks says NSA leaker Edward Snowden has not yet formally accepted asylum in Venezuela, quashing a brief but tantalizing tip from a Russian lawmaker that Snowden had decided where he plans to go from Moscow.
WikiLeaks, which has provided logistical help for Snowden since he fled the United States, issued its statement in a tweet.
It was responding to an earlier tweet in Russian sent –then quickly deleted – by Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Russian parliament’s foreign affairs committee.
Later Tuesday, WikiLeaks issued a cryptic tweet stating that today “the first phase of Edward Snowden’s ‘Flight of Liberty’ campaign will be launched. Follow for further details.”
Associated Press and USA TODAY
