NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
_1 Accusing Cuba: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that U.S. diplomats in Havana had been the victims of “health attacks” that left them with hearing loss — the most definitive U.S. statement yet on a series of mysterious incidents that have puzzled longtime observers of U.S.-Cuban relations. His comments Friday came two days after the State Department issued a vaguely worded statement saying there had been “incidents which have caused a variety of physical symptoms.” U.S. officials later revealed that American diplomats had suffered unexplained losses of hearing, and on Thursday Canada’s government said at least one Canadian diplomat in Cuba also had been treated for hearing loss. Some of the diplomats’ symptoms were so severe that they were forced to cancel their tours early and return to the United States.
_2 Commando units: The Afghan military will begin expanding its elite commando units in the coming weeks, Afghan officials and military officers said, in a bid to capitalize on a force that has been one of the few success stories in the nearly 16-year-old war. Starting in September, a training academy south of Kabul will add an 800-man, 14-week-long commando course atop its current curriculum. Afghan officials are optimistic that in the coming years the 12,000-strong force will be able to almost double, to 22,000 troops. As the number of commandos grows, the Ministry of Interior’s elite police unit and the Afghan Air Force’s Special Mission Wing will also expand, to 9,000 and 1,000 troops, respectively. The Afghan military’s decision to invest in its commando forces comes with strong U.S. backing and is a key component of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s recent military reform plan.
_3 Bird flu: The Philippines will cull at least 200,000 birds after confirming its first avian flu outbreak, but no animal-tohuman transmission has been reported, officials said Friday. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol said he ordered the culling of all fowl within 0.6 of a mile of six affected farms in northern Pampanga province’s San Luis town. Pinol said he was informed Thursday that 37,000 birds have died from avian influenza subtype H5, which can cause illness and deaths in both animals and humans. Experts believe the ducks to be the virus carrier, he added.
_4 Train collision: A train collision near Egypt’s coastal city of Alexandria on Friday killed at least 43 people and injured 122 others, Egyptian officials said. The two trains collided head on — one was coming from the capital of Cairo, to the south of Alexandria, and the other was coming from the city of Port Said, located on the northern tip of the Suez Canal. There was no immediate information on what had caused the collision. Egypt’s railway system has a poor safety record, mostly blamed on decades of badly maintained equipment and poor management. _5 Sub sinks: Copenhagen police say the owner of an amateur-built submarine that sank in Denmark’s water was arrested Friday on suspicion of murder in the disappearance of a Swedish journalist who had been a passenger on his vessel and had been writing about the UC3 Nautilus’ owner and builder, Peter Madsen. The sub was considered the largest privately built submarine of its kind in the world. Madsen denied killing the missing woman, claiming he dropped her off on an island on Thursday night.