The world in brief: Mosque, minivan blasts kill 14 Afghans;Ex-premier raises tensions in Pakistan;Activist’s sentence sparks Kashmir clash;Boat wreck survivors sought off Tunisia

An injured man is carried to a hospital after a bombing Wednesday in Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan.
(AP/Masih Paeiz)
An injured man is carried to a hospital after a bombing Wednesday in Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan. (AP/Masih Paeiz)


Mosque, minivan blasts kill 14 Afghans

ISLAMABAD -- A series of explosions shook Afghanistan on Wednesday, the Taliban said, including a blast inside a mosque in the capital of Kabul that killed at least five worshippers and three bombings of minivans in the country's north that killed nine passengers.

The Kabul Emergency Hospital said it received 22 victims of the mosque bombing, including five dead. There were no further details on the blast that struck the Hazrat Zakaria Mosque in the city's central Police District 4, according to Khalid Zadran, a Taliban police spokesman in Kabul.

"The blast took place while people were inside the mosque for the evening prayers," Zadran said, adding that they were waiting for an update.

The minivans were targeted in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif after explosive devices were placed inside the vehicles, according to Mohammad Asif Waziri, a Taliban-appointed spokesman in Balkh province. He said the explosions killed nine and wounded 15.

All the victims in Mazar-e-Sharif were from the country's minority Shiite Muslims, according to a police official.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosions.

Ex-premier raises tensions in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani police have fired tear gas and scuffled with stone-throwing supporters of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan ahead of marches Wednesday toward central Islamabad. The former premier had called followers to rally outside Parliament to bring down the government and force early elections.

The marches have raised fears of major violence between supporters of Khan -- now Pakistan's top opposition leader -- and security forces. The government of Khan's successor, Shahbaz Sharif, has banned the rally and warned Khan he could face arrest if he went ahead with the demonstrations.

The country's Supreme Court ruled later Wednesday that Khan's rally could go ahead -- but only at a specifically allocated public grounds and on condition the demonstrators disperse after an address by the former prime minister. The court also asked Khan's lawyer, Babar Awan, to ensure that the rally remains peaceful.

However, Khan persisted, urging supporters to head toward the square near Parliament for the rally that he planned to evolve into a sit-in there until the government resigned. By late evening, the former prime minister had not arrived in Islamabad while police were making security arrangements for an alternate location for the rally, far from the parliament building.

Earlier in the morning, riot police fired tear gas and pushed back hundreds of demonstrators who hurled stones as they tried to pass a roadblocked bridge near the city of Lahore to board busses bound for the capital, Islamabad. Dozens of Khan's followers also briefly clashed with police in Islamabad.

At least a dozen demonstrators and several policemen were injured.

Activist's sentence sparks Kashmir clash

NEW DELHI -- An Indian court sentenced a Kashmiri separatist leader to life in prison on Wednesday after declaring him guilty of terrorism and sedition, triggering a clash between protesters and police and a partial shutdown of businesses in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir.

Mohammed Yasin Malik, 56, led the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, one of the first armed rebel groups in the Indian-held area, but later shifted to peaceful means in seeking the end of Indian rule.

Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since British colonialists granted it independence in 1947.

Malik was arrested in 2019 and was convicted last week on charges of committing terrorist acts, illegally raising funds, belonging to a terrorist organization, and criminal conspiracy and sedition.

Before Wednesday's sentencing, dozens of Kashmiris gathered at Malik's home in Srinagar, the largest city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Some marched through the streets, chanting "We want freedom" and "Go back India." Government forces fired tear gas at the marchers, who threw stones. No injuries were immediately reported.

Boat wreck survivors sought off Tunisia

TUNIS, Tunisia -- Rescue teams searched Wednesday for dozens of people reported missing after a boat carrying migrants from Libya to Europe capsized off Tunisia's coast.

The International Organization for Migration said 30 people were rescued and 75 people were unaccounted for after the boat sank off the city of Sfax in southern Tunisia. One body has been recovered, authorities said.

Mourad Turki, a Sfax courts spokesperson, told reporters that the people rescued were between the ages of 18 and 40 and of various nationalities, including Bangladeshi, Egyptian, Moroccan and Cameroonian.

The search continued Wednesday, according to International Organization for Migration spokesperson Esma Rihane.

The boat reportedly departed from Zuwara in north Libya on Sunday night. According to the Sfax National Guard, the vessel ran aground 6 miles from the island of Kerkennah, off Tunisia's coast, although it was unclear exactly when.



  photo  Dozens of migrants sit early Wednesday in a wooden boat adrift off the coast of Tunisia. (AP/Valeria Ferraro)
 
 


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