NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Afghan attacks: One international service member and eight Afghan contractors were killed in an attack on a military base in the Afghan capital of Kabul, NATO said Saturday. The nationality of the NATO soldier was not released. The attack on Camp Integrity late Friday and two massive bombings in the city earlier in the day call into question President Ashraf Ghani’s ability to tamp down the violent insurgency that is roiling the country despite his administration’s focus on making peace with the Taliban. The contractors’ deaths increased the toll from one of Kabul’s worst days of violence to at least 44.
2 Detained reporter: Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian will appear in an Iranian court Monday for what likely will be the last hearing in his closed-door espionage trial, his lawyer said Saturday. Lawyer Leila Ahsan said the court session will be devoted to her defense of Rezaian, the Post’s Tehran bureau chief. Rezaian, his wife and two photojournalists were detained on July 22, 2014, in Tehran. All were later released except Rezaian. Rezaian is an Iranian American from the Bay Area. The Post, the U.S. government and press freedom organizations have criticized his trial.
3 Mideast violence: The severely burned father of a Palestinian toddler who was killed in an arson attack died of his wounds Saturday, and thousands of Palestinians came to bury him in this West Bank village gripped by grief, anger and fear. Saad Dawabsheh, 32, died in a medical center in Beersheba eight days after his 18month-old son, Ali, was killed in the fire that consumed the small family home. Jewish extremists are suspected in the July 31 firebombing, which was described as a terrorist attack by both Israeli and Palestinian politicians.
4 Wildfires: About 3,000 residents have been evacuated from their homes in southwestern Spain as wildfires that officials suspect were started deliberately continued to rage Saturday. Residents were evacuated from the town of Hoyos in the Extremadura region as flames were fanned by strong overnight winds, regional officials said. More than 25 square miles have burned since flames were detected Thursday in the Sierra de Gata — a region of outstanding natural beauty. Firefighters were also battling a wildfire in the southeastern Murcia region.