A round-up of today's other world news in brief ....
Taliban kills at least nine in wave of attacks
KABUL – At least nine people were killed when Taliban guerrillas, including waves of suicide bombers, launched a series of daring attacks in east Afghanistan yesterday, officials said, in a clear upsurge of violence.
Suicide bombers attacked, or attempted to attack, government and security offices and a military post in two key eastern towns, Gardez and Jalalabad.
Gun battles raged in Gardez amid confused reports of the fighting.
In Gardez, capital of Paktia province, the US military said at least three suicide attacks were reported. The Taliban said 15 suicide bombers launched attacks against government buildings.
Separately, two would-be suicide bombers attempted to attack a military outpost near the airport in Jalalabad, a former Taliban stronghold and capital of Nangarhar province, bordering Pakistan. – (Reuters)
Amnesty criticises Saudi detentions
RIYADH – Saudi Arabia has been condemned by Amnesty International for “gross and widespread” human rights abuses by detaining thousands of people in counter-terrorism round-ups and holding many of them for years without charge or trial.
In a report published today, Amnesty says many Saudi detainees have been tortured, some have “disappeared” into the conservative kingdom’s justice system and some have been sentenced to long prison terms or death sentences after unfair, summary trials.
Counter-terrorist measures have exacerbated an already “dire” human- rights situation, it adds. – (Guardian service)
Rich Britons get top jobs – report
LONDON – Only children from the richest British families can enjoy careers in top professions such as law and medicine because of increasingly impenetrable social barriers, a UK government-commissioned report said yesterday.
The Fair Access to the Professions report found 75 per cent of judges, 70 per cent of finance directors and 45 per cent of all top civil servants had been to independent schools even though just 7 per cent of the population were independently educated. – (Reuters)
Beer-drinking woman sentenced
KUALA LUMPUR – An Islamic court in Malaysia has sentenced a Muslim woman to be flogged with a rattan cane for having a beer in a nightclub, a court official said yesterday.
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno (32) was sentenced to six lashes and a fine of 5,000 ringgit (€995) for consuming alcohol.
Consuming alcohol is a religious offence in Malaysia only for Muslims. – (AP)
Sony bids $50m for Jackson film
LOS ANGELES – Sony’s film studio has bid $50 million (€35 million) for worldwide distribution rights to a film based on rehearsal footage for Michael Jackson’s comeback concert series, according to a person familiar with the talks.
The person said the bid came after several studios, including Paramount, Universal and 20th Century Fox, were shown the footage. – (AP)
Bombings across Baghdad kill 16
BAGHDAD – Bombs exploded across Baghdad yesterday, killing 16 people and wounding dozens, two of the blasts striking the crowded Shia slum of Sadr City, security officials said.
In Iraq’s usually quiet Anbar province, the country’s largest, a rare two-day vehicle ban was imposed across the vast desert region after bombings in the provincial capital, Ramadi. – (Reuters)