9 DEAD AS UN BASES COME UNDER TWIN ATTACK IN MALI

BAMAKO: Gunmen attacked two United Nations bases in Mali on Monday ( Tuesday in Manila), killing a peacekeeper, a contractor and seven Malians, the UN said, in the latest attacks on its presence in the country. The Togolese peacekeeper and a Malian soldier were killed in an attack in the early morning in Douentza, in Mopti, according to a statement from the UN mission in the country. Hours later, six men toting guns and grenades drove up to the entrance of the UN mission’s camp in Timbuktu in northwestern Mali, the UN announced in a separate statement. They opened fire on Malian UN security guards, killing five of them, as well as a policeman and a civilian contractor whose nationality was not specified, the UN said in a separate statement. A UN source told Agence France-Presse six guards had been killed, but the statement said one was wounded but had not died. Two suspected jihadists were killed in the Douentza attack and six in Timbuktu. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the violence in a statement, stressing that attacks targeting UN peacekeepers “may constitute war crimes under international law.”

DON’T REPORT SEX ABUSES REVEALED IN CONFESSIONAL: AUSTRALIA BISHOPS

SYDNEY: Priests should not be forced to report child sexual abuse revealed in the confessional, top Australian Catholics said Tuesday, adding they would rather risk jail than break the sacramental seal. The comments follow a national inquiry set up by the government into institutional child sexual abuse, which is in its final phase after more than four years of hearings. The Royal Commission released 85 proposed reforms Monday, including a law making failure to report such abuse a criminal offense even when the information was revealed during confession. “There [should] be no exemption, excuse, protection or privilege from the offence granted to clergy,” it said. One of Australia’s leading Catholic clerics, Archbishop of MelbourneAust Denis Hart, said that confession was a fundamental part of religious freedom. Asked if priests would go to jail rather than breach the seal of confession, Hart told ABC radio: “I’ve said that I would.” Hart was backed by other highprofile clerics, including his Brisbane counterpart Mark Coleridge and Jesuit priest and lawyer Father Frank Brennan.

GRACE MUGABE PROBED OVER ALLEGED ASSAULT IN SAFRICA

JOHANNESBURG: South African police were on Tuesday investigating an alleged assault by Zimbabwean first lady Grace Mugabe on a model who was staying at a Johannesburg hotel with her two sons. During the incident, which occurred on Sunday, Mugabe, 52, allegedly attacked Gabriella Engels, 20, with an extension cord, leaving her with wounds on her forehead and the back of her head. “If she came here with her diplomatic passport, she’ll have diplomatic immunity. This doesn’t mean she cannot be arrested.” Pictures on social media appear to show Engels with a bleeding head injury after the alleged incident in Capital 20 West Hotel in the upmarket district of Sandton. Mugabe allegedly arrived with bodyguards and accused Engels of living with her sons Robert and Chatunga, both in their 20s, who are based in the city. Mugabe, who is 41 years younger than her husband Robert, has two sons and one daughter with the Zimbabwean president.

THAI STUDENT LEADER PLEADS GUILTY TO LESE MAJESTE

BANGKOK: A prominent student leader on Tuesday pleaded guilty to defaming Thailand’s royal family by sharing a news story about the kingdom’s new monarch on Facebook, his lawyer said. Jatupat “Pai Dao Din” Boonpatararaksa, 25, is the latest anti-junta activist to be hit with the country’s draconian lese majeste law which bans any criticism of the monarchy. The law, which carries up to 15 years in jail per charge, has been wielded with increased ferocity under Thailand’s military rulers. He has been held in custody since his arrest in December for sharing a profile of King Maha Vajiralongkorn written by the BBC’s Thai-language service in London. On Tuesday he changed his plea to guilty, his legal team said, a stance that usually trims the sentence of alleged offenders. The court in northeastern Khon Kaen province is expected to sentence him later on Tuesday, he added.