NEWS OF THE DAY
_1 Afghanistan attack: The Taliban targeted a progovernment militia compound in northern Jawzjan province Monday, killing 14 members of the Afghan security forces, a local official said. The attack came even as Taliban officials said just hours earlier that a temporary, nationwide ceasefire has been agreed upon among their council leaders. It wasn’t clear when the ceasefire would go into effect. The Taliban today control or hold sway over half of the country and stage neardaily attacks targeting Afghan and U.S. forces and Afghan government officials.
_2 Sudan sentencing: A court on Monday sentenced 27 members of Sudan’s security forces to death for torturing and killing a detained protester during the uprising against longtime autocrat Omar alBashir earlier this year. The death of protester Ahmed alKhair, a teacher, while in detention in February was a key point in the uprising that eventually led to the military’s ouster of alBashir. Last December, the first rally was held in Sudan to protest the soaring cost of bread and the dire economic conditions, marking the beginning of a prodemocracy movement that convulsed the large African country. That led, in April, to the toppling of alBashir, and ultimately to the creation of a joint militarycivilian Sovereign Council that has committed to rebuilding the country and promises elections in three years.
_3 Rape case: A Cyprus court on Monday found a 19yearold British woman guilty of fabricating claims that she was gang raped by 12 Israelis in a hotel room at a resort in the island nation, saying that her story lacked credibility. The woman said she is innocent and will appeal. The case triggered widespread interest in Britain and Israel. The woman, who has not been identified, faces up to a year in prison at her Jan. 7 sentencing. The woman told investigators that she had been raped by as many as a dozen Israelis aged 1520 on July 17. Cyprus police said she retracted the allegations after investigators found inconsistencies in her statements.
_4 Diplomats expelled: Bolivian Interim President Jeanine Anez says her government is expelling the top Mexican and Spanish diplomats in the country over an alleged attempt by members of Bolivia’s former government to leave refuge in the Mexican embassy with Spanish help and flee the country. Spain expelled three Bolivian officials Monday in response. Anez said Ambassador Maria Teresa Mercado, the Spanish charge d’affaires and the Spanish consul were all declared persona non grata. The incident centers around a group of nine former officials in the government of deposed Bolivian President Evo Morales who sought refuge in the Mexican embassy after Morales stepped down under pressure last month. The acting Bolivian government has charged the former officials with sedition, terrorism and electoral fraud.
_5 Hong Kong protests: Police on Monday accused activists in the prodemocracy movement of inciting minors to commit crimes. The claim comes before a planned New Year’s Day march that is expected to draw tens of thousands of participants. Chief police spokesman Kwok Kachuen said the force was in close contact with organizers of the Jan. 1 event, but would not tolerate threats to public safety. Children as young as 12 have been among the nearly 7,000 arrested during the protests, which have drawn broad support and were originally sparked by nowdiscarded legislation that would have allowed citizens of the semiautonomous Chinese city to be sent to China for trial. Protesters’ demands have since expanded to include universal suffrage and a probe into alleged police abuses.