A suicide bomber in Kabul has killed more than 40 people and injured dozens more after targeting a crowd of religious scholars marking the birthday of the prophet Muhammad. There are fears the death toll could rise, as hundreds were packed into the large hall near the Afghan capital’s airport, more often used to host weddings.

The initial figures were 43 dead and 82 wounded, with nearly one-third of them in critical conditions, the health ministry spokesman, Waheed Majrooh, told local Tolo Television. Images shared by Afghan journalists showed bodies in crumpled piles near a stage and lying by abandoned tables. No group claimed immediate responsibility for the attack, which was likely the work of the Taliban or the regional affiliate of Islamic State.

The birthday of Muhammad is celebrated by Muslims around the world, but extremists believe marking it is sacrilegious. In a sign of the toll of long years of war, the Uranus wedding hall hit by the bombing had been damaged in a previous attack in 2012 targeting a bus carrying foreign workers. The attack was the worst in the capital for more than two months, since a bloody assault on a gym popular with a Shia minority group. It is the latest of many targeting civilians as they go about their daily business, work and prayer. The first half of this year was the bloodiest on record for civilians, and parliamentary elections in October were the most violent Afghanistan has seen, according to the UN.(theguardian)…[+]

A 16-year-old was one of two people who appeared before the Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court charged with the murder of national awardee Haseena Ali. Videsh Sooklal, 32 of Curepe was jointly charged with him for the indicatable offence. The two appeared before magistrate Adrian Darmanie who read the allegation that on November 2 at Beaucarro Road, they murdered Ali. The charge was laid by constable Valdez.

Ali, 74, a former Board of Inland Revenue commissioner and chairman and recipient of the Public Service Medal of Merit-Gold, was found dead at her home earlier this month. Her house was set on fire and her partially burnt body was later discovered. An autopsy found she had been stabbed. There were no family members for the minor present in court for the hearing of matter but police prosecutor Sgt Soodeen told the court that his family members were informed of the situation.(Trinidad Express) …[+]

Benjamin Netanyahu has won a reprieve from the threat of early elections in Israel after a senior member of his cabinet announced he would not resign and break up the coalition government.Naftali Bennett, the hardliner education minister, was widely expected to quit during a press conference on Monday morning but instead said in a surprise announcement that his Jewish Home party would give the prime minister another chance.

Bennett, a security hawk, had considered following Netanyahu’s defence minister, Avigdor Lieberman, who left the Israeli government to protest against Netanyahu’s decision to agree to a truce with the rulers of Gaza, Hamas. The Tuesday ceasefire followed the most intense round of fighting since the war in 2014, as militants and Israeli forces battled each other with rockets and airstrikes.

Bennett had threatened to bring down the government if he was not appointed defence minister, a portfolio Netanyahu gave to himself on Sunday. If the education minister had left, he would have stripped the prime minister of his parliamentary majority and triggered early polls.(theguardian)…[+]

Russian authorities have announced new charges against the US-born British financier William Browder – another twist in a highly politicised case that has seen the Kremlin tirelessly go after one of its most vocal international critics.

On Monday, prosecutors in Moscow accused Browder of organising a “transnational criminal group” and claimed he may have poisoned Sergei Magnitsky, the lawyer who uncovered huge government-linked fraud and died in prison. Browder has accused Russian prison officials of causing Magnitsky’s death. Prosecutors said the charges carried a potential 20-year sentence. The move would increase unease about the prospect of a Russian candidate taking over Interpol, the international police agency. The Sunday Times reported that British officials believe Alexander Prokopchuk, a 56-year-old veteran of the Russian interior ministry, was likely to be elected the next secretary general of the organisation during its general assembly this week. It comes after Interpol’s Chinese head Meng Hongwei resigned in October. China’s anti-corruption authorities have been investigating him.(theguardian)…[+]

SUSPENDED Senior Superintendent of Police Edward Castillo was gunned down at his business place in Waterloo on Saturday afternoon. Gunmen went to Aiden’s Mini Mart and Meat Shop around 6 p.m. in Waterloo, pretending to be customers. Castillo was shot multiple times as he attended to the men. The father of five died at the scene. A woman was also shot in the leg, the Sunday Express was told. Police have arrested one man in connection with the case. Two others have been identified. Castillo was suspended from the Police Service in 2012. He later faced three charges of indecent assault against women police officers which were allegedly committed between 2003 and 2010. He also faced a charge of unlawfully imprisoning one of the officers against her will. The matters were still pending before the court. His attorney Prakash Ramadhar said yesterday he was saddened by the news. “We were very eager to have the matters ventilated to vindicate his good name and reputation. It is very sad he left this life with these matters and his name under some cloud.” Castillo’s killing brought the murder toll for the year so far to 463.(Trinidad Express)…[+]

Israel is due to hold elections early next year after the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, lost his defence minister and talks broke down in his coalition government on Friday, a source close to the cabinet told the Guardian. Netanyahu had met the education minister, Naftali Bennett, who wanted the defence ministry post in the rightwing government, but the meeting ended with a decision by cabinet members to hold national polls, which were previously due in November 2019.

During a frantic few hours ahead of the country shutting down for the Friday night sabbath, ministers rushed to make media statements before the holy day of rest.

A source close to Bennett said that at the end of the cabinet discussion it became clear that “there was a need to go to elections as soon as possible with no possibility of continuing the current government”. Netanyahu’s office said he would attempt to preserve the administration, but that looked unlikely after he lost support from Bennett’s Jewish Home party.(theguardian)…[+]

An aspiring mechanic was murdered in Carenage during a drive-by shooting in the area on Wednesday night. Police said Shaquille John, of Resurrection, Upper Haig Street, had finished work and stopped off at a savannah in the area where some of his friends had gathered at around 9 pm. It turned out to be a fatal choice.

A Nissan AD Wagon reportedly pulled up alongside the group and two gunmen in the vehicle opened fire. John, relatives said, had his back to the roadway and was none the wiser to the attack while his friends scattered when made aware of the danger.

He was shot several times about the body. He was taken to the St James Medical Facility where he was pronounced dead. Just one week ago, John, 20, had reconciled with his father, his mother Stacy Ann John told reporters at the Forensic Science Centre St James. She said he had long expressed his dreams to be a mechanic and having spent several years taking odd jobs with other garages, finally put aside his differences and accepted a role in his father’s garage. She said she was happy to see John make that decision because it meant that he would be off the streets and involved in a field he had long been interested.(Trinidad Guardian)…[+]

GENEVA/GEORGETOWN — On 19 and 20 November, government representatives from across the Caribbean region, together with the President of the Human Rights Council, Vojislav Šuc of Slovenia, will gather in Georgetown, Guyana to participate in an unprecedented meeting to discuss ways to maximize their engagement with the Geneva-based Council, the United Nations’ body responding to all human rights situations across the globe. The unique event marks the first official visit by a President of the Human Rights Council to the region, and will be opened by Moses Nagamootoo, Prime Minister of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

The two-day workshop, organized by the Trust Fund to Support the Participation of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the work of the Human Rights Council, of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Government of Guyana, and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, will provide a unique opportunity for officials of the 14 member States of CARICOM to interact, exchange information, experiences and ideas on how to better engage with the Geneva-based Council.

Some 40 participants, who include senior Government officials from Guyana, and Colin Granderson, Assistant Secretary-General of CARICOM, will identify and document good practices that can further enhance and strengthen the effective participation of their respective countries in the Human Rights Council, both nationally and regionally. “Only six of the 14 countries in the Caribbean region have a permanent mission in Geneva. It is therefore essential that those unable to attend our meetings in Geneva have their voices heard which will enhance our efforts to promote universality in our work.  Thanks to the Trust Fund and this gathering in the Guyanese capitol, this is becoming a reality”, stated Ambassador Šuc…[+]

Bangladesh has conceded that it will be unable to voluntarily repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar as it had planned because it cannot find anyone willing to go back, though efforts to “motivate” people to leave will continue.

Four trucks and three buses were stationed at Unchiprang camp in Cox’s Bazar on Thursday morning, ready to carry refugees who have been “approved” to a transit camp by the border, but not one refugee was willing to board them. Most refugees on a list of those approved to return have gone into hiding. Mohammad Abul Kalam, Bangladesh’s refugee relief and rehabilitation commissioner, said his team had completed the “physical and logistical preparations” to facilitate the repatriation but has been forced to accept by Thursday evening local time that the refugees “are not willing to go back now.“Bangladesh was “totally committed to the principle of non-refoulement and voluntary repatriation”, Abul Kalam said. “We will not force anyone to go back to Myanmar against his or her will,” he added, though authorities would continue to try to “motivate” refugees to leave.More than 2,000 Rohingya refugees had been put on a list approved by Myanmar for return, without their consent. While the plan was to send them back in batches of 150 per day starting on Thursday, by Wednesday night almost all had gone into hiding in other camps and in the nearby forest, amid fears they would be sent to Myanmar against their will.(theguardian)…[+]

America cannot afford “a truculent child president” if it is to fulfil its global leadership role, the former US secretary of state John Kerry said on Thursday as he lambasted Donald Trump for failing to attend a key Armistice Day commemoration ceremony in Paris at the weekend. Kerry is visiting the UK to promote his book and will be speaking at a Guardian Live event in London on Thursday night.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Kerry spoke of “a dearth of a leadership on a global basis” adding: “Every country is feeling the pressure of this nationalistic populist and in some cases very frightening rightwing advance.” He said: “I was appalled that rain drops prevented the president from going to pay honour to those that died in rain, gas, snow and mud. That was the reason he came to Paris.”Trump refused to attend the rain-swept ceremony citing concerns that his helicopter could not fly due to the weather, and his belief that if he travelled by car, the Paris traffic would be severely disrupted.(theguardian)…[+]