NEWS OF THE DAY
_1 Oxfam scandal: Oxfam’s deputy chief executive resigned Monday, saying she takes “full responsibility” for failing to act immediately in the sexual misconduct scandal involving the charity’s workers in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. Penny Lawrence, Oxfam program director at the time, said she was “ashamed that this happened on my watch.” Still, it’s unclear whether the resignation will quell the scandal, which first emerged when the Times of London reported last week that seven former Oxfam staff members who worked in Haiti faced misconduct allegations that included using prostitutes.
_2 Kashmir violence: India’s defense minister said Monday that gunmen belonging to the Pakistan militant group Jaish-eMohammed were behind a weekend attack on an army camp in Indian-controlled Kashmir, and warned Islamabad that it “would pay for this misadventure.” Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Jammu, the site of the attack, that New Delhi would present Pakistan with evidence of the involvement of the outlawed militant group and its leader Masood Azhar, who “derived support” from Pakistan. Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it rejected all “insinuations” from Indian officials. The attack left five soldiers and one civilian dead.
_3 Train crash: Two passenger trains crashed in central Austria on Monday, killing one person and injuring 22 others, authorities said. One of the trains hit the side of the other near the station in Niklasdorf, a town 40 miles north of Graz, said police spokesman Leo Josefus. Photographs of the accident scene showed the side of a EuroCity train that was traveling to Germany torn away and a regional Austrian train next to it. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
_4 Ukraine politics: Mikheil Saakashvili, the former Georgian president-turned opposition leader in Ukraine, was deported to Poland, Ukrainian officials said Monday. Allies of Saakashvili said he was detained by armed men wearing masks at a Kiev restaurant and quickly driven to Kiev’s airport. Oleh Slobodyan, a spokesman for the Ukrainian border guards, cited decisions by Ukrainian courts, which ruled that Saakashvili was staying in the country illegally. Saakashvili was stripped of Ukrainian citizenship while he was abroad last year, but he forced his way back from Poland into Ukraine in September. Since then, he has led repeated protests against Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko.
_5 Graft probe: Israel’s attorney general has asked police to delay issuing their recommendations into two corruption allegations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu until the Supreme Court hears a petition against them. Police were scheduled to present their long-awaited findings this week. But officials say Avichai Mandelblit wants the court to first rule on the petition of a right-wing lawyer who is seeking a gag order on details of the investigation. One probe reportedly concerns allegations Netanyahu improperly received lavish gifts from Hollywood and business figures. Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing.
_6 Militant killed: A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban has confirmed the death of its deputy leader in a recent U.S. drone strike in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region. The group’s deputy chief, Khalid Mehsud, was killed in Thursday’s strike in North Waziristan, once a stronghold of militants. Mullah Fazlullah, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.
Chronicle News Services