Bomb kills 62 at mosque in Afghanistan

An explosion rocked a mosque in eastern Afghanistan as dozens of people gathered for Friday prayers, causing the roof to collapse and killing 62 worshippers, provincial officials said. The attack underscored a record number of civilians dying in the country’s 18-year war.

Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, said the militant attack wounded 36 others. He said it was not immediately clear if the mosque was attacked by a suicide bomber or by some other type of bombing.

Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani, denounced the attack on Twitter. “The Afghan government strongly condemns today’s suicide attack in a mosque in Nangarhar province,” he tweeted.

No one immediately claimed responsibility, but both the Taliban and the Islamic State are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially Nangarhar province.

However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack in a statement and called it a serious crime.

Leader’s brother guilty

A New York jury convicted the brother of the president of Honduras on cocaine trafficking charges Friday, ending a trial that offered a blueprint for the way drug money penetrated the highest levels of Honduran politics to buy protection and immunity.

Since his brother’s arrest last year, a central question facing Hondurans is how President Juan Orlando Hernandez could proclaim to be fighting drug traffickers while his brother, Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernandez, was under investigation for allegedly running tons of cocaine to the U.S.

Over two weeks, a parade of witnesses — several confessed drug traffickers — offered an answer: The president looked the other way in exchange for millions of dollars for his and his party’s political campaigns.

Among those who funneled money to the president’s brother, one witness said, was Joaquin Guzman Loera, the Mexican drug kingpin known as El Chapo.

“These were bribes,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emil Bove said of the payouts, and they “came with strings.”

Court: No gay marriage

A Hong Kong court ruled Friday against allowing same-sex unions in the city, a setback for efforts to broaden recognition of such partnerships in Asia.

The decision by Hong Kong’s Court of First Instance upheld a government policy prohibiting such unions. It came five months after Taiwan’s government became the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriages, stirring hope among many that other places in the region would follow suit.

In the ruling, Judge Anderson Chow wrote that “updating” the definition of marriage to include samesex couples would lead to “far-reaching consequences” that the court was not prepared to accept.

Japan in Mideast?

Japan is considering a dispatch of its naval assets to the Middle East for a mission that could contribute to the stability of a region vital to its prosperity, the top government spokesman said.

Japan, which depends on the Middle East for 80% of its crude oil imports, will not take part in the Strait of Hormuz security initiative proposed by its sole military ally, the U.S. It is instead mulling its own operations in neighboring areas including the Gulf of Oman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Friday in Tokyo.

“The peace and stability of the Middle East is extremely important for the peace and prosperity of our country and the international community,” Mr. Suga said.