NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Nigeria bombings: Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up in a northeast Nigerian refugee camp, killing at least 56 people, health and rescue officials said Wednesday. A third woman bomber was arrested and has given officials information about other planned bombings that helped them increase security at the camp, said an official of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency. Some 78 people are being treated for wounds from the twin explosions that occurred Tuesday morning in a camp of some 50,000 people driven from their homes by the Boko Haram Islamic uprising, according to health workers in Maiduguri, the biggest city in northeastern Nigeria.
2 Gay rights: Left- of- center parties in Portugal’s Parliament have used their majority to overturn presidential vetoes on bills that granted adoption rights to same- sex couples and removed some abortion restrictions. The legal changes give gay couples the same adoption rights as heterosexuals and waive mandatory counseling for women seeking an abortion.
3 Torture allegations: A group of human rights organizations in southern Thailand said in a report Wednesday that complaints of torture by security forces have not been addressed by authorities. The Cross Cultural Foundation, the Patani Human Rights Network and the Duay Jai Group looked at 54 cases of alleged psychological and physical torture in Thailand’s deep south, where the government has been battling a Muslim separatist insurgency since 2004. The conflict has taken about 6,000 lives. The report describes acts of torture as systematic and says that in spite of complaints and campaigns by victims, relatives and rights organizations, “the state has not taken any significant action to prevent and address torture.”
4 Malls reduce hours: Shopping malls across Venezuela are preparing to dramatically reduce their hours to comply with a government electricity rationing order. Venezuela’s government says that starting Wednesday, more than 100 malls will have to close or generate their own power four hours each day, from 1 p. m. to 3 p. m. and from 7 p. m. to 9 p. m. Officials say the measure will help the economically embattled country cope with problems at hydroelectric plants due to a severe drought caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon
5 Abuse case: An Israeli court ruled Wednesday in favor of a former member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s housekeeping staff who had complained he was mistreated by Netanyahu’s wife, Sara. The Jerusalem labor court awarded Meni Naftali about $ 42,000 in damages and court costs. Naftali has claimed he was subjected to abusive language and insults by Mrs. Netanyahu. In one instance, Naftali alleged she had called him at 3 a. m. to complain that he had bought milk in a plastic storage bag instead of a carton. In another case, he says she threw a vase of day- old flowers on the floor, scolding him that they were not fresh enough.
6 Spelunkers rescued: French authorities on Wednesday rescued seven Spanish spelunkers who had been trapped overnight in a cave in the Pyrenees region. The Haute- Garonne prefecture launched a successful rescue operation in the morning, and said that the six men and one woman were “tired but not injured.” Extreme weather and recent heavy rain have caused flooding in some caves in the mountainous region — well- known to cave explorers. It’s about 85 miles southwest of Toulouse.