Taliban attack rocks upscale Kabul
KABUL, Afghanistan – Taliban fighters staged an attack Thursday evening in an upscale district in the Afghan capital Kabul. Witnesses described multiple explosions and bursts of gunfire in the Wazir Akbar Khan district, which contains numerous foreign embassies and compounds housing international agencies and companies – as well as the homes of some senior Afghan government officials.
The attack came hours after a suicide car-bomber struck a British embassy vehicle, killing five people including a British citizen.
Kabul Police Chief Gen. Mohammad Zahir said there were three explosions followed by extended gunfire. A Taliban spokesman said the intended target was a guesthouse in the district occupied by foreigners. The spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, refused to give further details, adding only that the target of the attack were “enemies.”
Hong Kong protest leader banned
HONG KONG – A Hong Kong court Thursday banned a high-profile student leader from going near a recently cleared protest site, constraining the pro-democracy movement as it enters a third month.
Joshua Wong, who has become the most prominent of Hong Kong’s protest leaders, was also given bail and his case adjourned until January 14.
Wong was among a group of protesters arrested during an operation by authorities the day before to finish clearing the protest site in the volatile Mong Kok neighborhood.
Police and court officers moved swiftly to shut down the camp on a busy road, arresting more than 150 people during the operation and in ensuing scuffles on surrounding streets. The site had been one of three across the city occupied by protesters demanding greater democratic reforms than those allowed by Beijing.
Mexico announces anti-crime crackdown
MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s president announced a nationwide anti-crime plan Thursday that would allow Congress to dissolve local governments infiltrated by drug gangs and give state authorities control over often-corrupt municipal police.
The plan announced by President Enrique Peña Nieto came two months after 43 teachers college students disappeared in the Guerrero city of Iguala, allegedly killed and incinerated by a drug gang working with local police. Huge marches have been held to protest their disappearance.
Peña Nieto suggested his plan was influenced by the Iguala tragedy, noting its “cruelty and barbarity have shocked Mexico.”
Associated Press
