In brief: New drone strikes anger Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Pakistan on Thursday condemned two air strikes that reportedly killed 16 suspected militants and appeared to mark an end to a nearly six-month pause in the CIA’s covert drone operations in the country’s tribal areas.

After six militants were reported killed in the first strike in the North Waziristan tribal region late Wednesday, drones fired six missiles at a residential compound in the same area Thursday morning and killed 10 others, according to Pakistani security sources.

“These strikes are a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Additionally, these strikes have a negative impact on the government’s efforts to bring peace and stability in Pakistan and the region.”

British terrorism trial can be mostly secret

LONDON – A British appeals court ruled Thursday that an upcoming terrorism trial can be held mostly in secret, despite objections from civil liberties groups and news organizations that argued for public access and from prosecutors who wanted the entire proceeding kept confidential.

Britain’s Court of Appeals said the case was an exceptional one, and agreed with government lawyers that, if the trial were open to the public, national security would be endangered. Exactly how was not explained.

The bulk of the trial of two men suspected of plotting a terrorist attack can therefore take place behind closed doors, the court ruled. The trial is set to start Monday.

But the judges said the names of the defendants could be released and that a portion of the proceedings could be attended by a small group of journalists.