World in brief: Nation returns to democracy
Nepalis embraced the country’s return to democracy Thursday with millions voting in an election meant to secure lasting peace in a land riven by communist insurgents and an autocratic king.
Undeterred by shootings and clashes that killed two people, many voters lined up before sunrise outside polling stations across this Himalayan land. Some even broke into applause when voting began.
An estimated 60 percent of the 17.6 million voters cast ballots at 20,000 polling stations.
The election of a 601-seat Constituent Assembly to write a new constitution has been touted as the cornerstone of a 2006 peace deal with former rebels, known as the Maoists, following weeks of unrest that forced Nepal’s king to cede power, which he had seized the year before.
Major parties have agreed to abolish the 239-year-old monarchy at the assembly’s first sitting.
Jerusalem
Israel cuts off Gaza’s fuel source
Israel cut off the only source of fuel to Gaza’s 1.4 million people Thursday after a deadly Palestinian raid on the Israeli depot, deepening the seaside territory’s hardship.
Gaza’s Hamas rulers warned more attacks will follow, as resentment grows over a months-old Israeli blockade.
The fuel cutoff that followed the brazen daylight attack on the only fuel transfer point into Gaza brought charges that Islamic extremists were trying to provoke another round of violence with Israel, while putting Israel in the untenable position of appearing to cause a humanitarian crisis.
Though some Israelis demanded that Israel halt all supplies to Gaza, Israeli defense officials indicated the cutoff would not last past the weekend.
Kandahar, Afghanistan
Suicide bomber kills eight civilians
A suicide bomber targeting a NATO convoy killed eight Afghan civilians and wounded about two dozen others on Thursday, authorities said.
Three Canadian soldiers were slightly wounded in the blast, according to military officials.
The attack, in a crowded district of Kandahar city, was part of a pattern of suicide bombings carried out by insurgents against coalition forces. The strike was typical in that it killed civilian bystanders rather than soldiers, who patrol the city only in heavily armored vehicles.
Three of those killed were children, the Interior Ministry said. Of the Afghans injured, two were policemen, according to the provincial police chief, Sayde Agha Sapib.
Suicide bombings, together with roadside bombs, are a favored tactic of the insurgents, particularly in southern Afghanistan, where conflict has been intensifying. Last year saw nearly 150 suicide attacks nationwide, the largest number since the toppling of the Taliban movement in 2001.