In brief: Afghanistan girl’s condition improving in English hospital

London – A 14-year-old girl shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting female education has been doing better since she was airlifted to England for specialized treatment, a Pakistani official said Wednesday.

Although it’s difficult to gauge what such an improvement might mean given that the exact nature of Malala Yousufzai’s brain injuries have yet to be made public, one expert said the news was good.

“Any progress is hopeful,” Dr. Jonathan Fellus, chief scientific officer at the New Jersey-based International Brain Research Foundation, said. “This is the natural course of recovery that we would expect.”

The Pakistani official said he had been briefed by doctors and that Malala’s condition was “definitely much better” since she arrived in England on Monday. He added that the girl was moving her limbs, although he didn’t elaborate.

British police mistakenly use stun gun on blind stroke victim

London – British police apologized Wednesday for using a stun gun to subdue a blind stroke victim they wrongly thought was carrying a samurai sword, a bizarre case of mistaken identity that left the man fearing for his life.

Colin Farmer told British broadcasters that he thought he was going to die after he heard a commotion, felt electricity surge through his body, and was knocked to the floor by an unknown assailant. The incident occurred in the town of Chorley, in northern England’s Lancashire County, on Friday.

Lancashire Police Chief Stuart Williams said police brought the victim to a local hospital after they realized they had used the weapon against the wrong man.

He said in a statement that police “deeply regret” the incident, which happened after police received multiple reports that a man was walking through Chorley “armed with a samurai sword.”