Russian roadblock leaves 5 dead, 47 injured
kyiv, Ukraine — A Russian missile and drone attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Wednesday killed five civilians and wounded 47 others, including a 14-year-old girl, authorities said.
Explosions shattered windows of a shopping mall, sending shards of glass flying into the street, according to photos released by local authorities. Mayor Borys Filatov said the daytime attack also shattered windows of two schools and three kindergartens. Debris hit the intensive care unit of a children’s hospital, and a fire broke out at another hospital.
A video posted on social media by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shows a missile with a trail of fire streaking over buildings in Ukraine’s fourth-largest city, with debris flying through the air after impact.
The war, which has been going on for three years since Russia invaded its neighbor, has killed more than 10,000 civilians and injured about 20,000 others, according to the United Nations.
In the northeastern Kharkiv region, Russian shelling hit a village council building, killing one person and wounding two others, regional head Oleh Suniehubov said.
Indonesian official sacked for sexual assault
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s election commission fired its chairman on Wednesday after finding him guilty of sexual assault following a complaint filed by an employee.
The General Election Commission’s ethics council said its chairman, Hasyim Asyari, committed the assault in October and “fully” accepted the accuser’s complaint.
The woman, identified only by her initials, worked at the commission’s office in The Hague, Netherlands, where she said Asyari asked her to come to his hotel room during his visit. The commission said in its judgment that Asyari “has been found guilty of using his power and abusing state facilities to satisfy his personal desires.”
In April, another woman filed a sexual harassment complaint against Asyari, and the ethics council sanctioned her with a “stern warning.”
The latest accuser attended the hearing before the commission in the capital Jakarta on Wednesday. It is unclear whether the woman plans to file a complaint with the police.
“From the beginning until today, I have experienced many ups and downs,” she told reporters after the verdict. “I want to encourage all victims in similar cases to be brave, especially women, to challenge or fight for justice.”
In a brief statement at a news conference, Asyari said he accepted the election commission’s decision. He did not comment on the case.
21 dead in attack on wedding in Mali
BAMAKO, Mali — An armed group attacked a wedding ceremony in central Mali and killed at least 21 people, residents said Wednesday, as the West African nation’s military rulers battle growing violence by extremists.
The attackers entered the village of Djiguibombo, in the town of Bandiagara, on Monday evening on motorbikes, at a time when residents were celebrating the couple, according to Bakary Guindo, president of the local youth group.
“Most of the victims had their throats slit,” Guindo said.
Hamidou Saye, a resident, said the attackers surrounded the large number of participants.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but it is a continuation of attacks by the al-Qaeda-linked extremist group JNIM, which often targets the region.
Since 2012, communities in central and northern Mali have been plagued by such violence. The following year, extremist rebels were ousted from power in northern cities, with the help of recently expelled French troops. The extremists have regrouped and are launching attacks on remote villages and security forces.
Nearly four years after taking power and the departure of foreign peacekeepers, Mali’s military has failed to contain the violence. At the same time, a 2015 peace deal with Tuareg rebels operating in the north of the country has collapsed, worsening the security crisis.
Former Pakistani senator killed by bomb
KHAR, Pakistan — A former Pakistani senator was killed Wednesday when a vehicle carrying him and his supporters hit a roadside bomb in a former Pakistani Taliban stronghold near the Afghan border, police said. Four others were killed.
The attack took place in Bajur, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Bakhat Bunar, the local police chief. He said former senator Hidayatullah Khan was travelling in a convoy to attend an election rally.
President Asif Ali Zardari and other officials denounced the attack.
The attack has not been claimed and the Pakistani Taliban said in a statement they were not involved. Bajur was until recently a stronghold of the group, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is allied with the Afghan Taliban.
The TTP was strengthened by the Afghan Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan in 2021 as international forces withdrew.
Pakistani authorities often claim that Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders provide sanctuary to TTP fighters.
