GERMANY
Alleged Auschwitz death camp guard arrested
A 93-year-old man who was deported from the U.S. for lying about his Nazi past was arrested by German authorities Monday on allegations he served as an Auschwitz death camp guard, Stuttgart prosecutors said. Hans Lipschis was taken into custody after authorities concluded there was “compelling evidence” he was involved in crimes at Auschwitz while there from 1941 to 1945. Lipschis has acknowledged being assigned to an SS guard unit at Auschwitz but maintains he served as a cook only and was not involved in any war crimes.
RUSSIAN
Prosecutions of opposition leaders protested
Thousands of people turned out Monday for a protest in Moscow that was intended to draw attention to what organizers said was the return of political prosecutions in the Russian courts. The rally, one of the largest protests in recent months, was timed to coincide with the anniversary of a riot in Bolotnaya Square last year that was followed by mass arrests and prosecutions under contentious circumstances. Organizers said nearly 30,000 people attended the rally Monday, close to their expectations and the limit allowed under the permit for the gathering. Interfax, a Russian news agency, said turnout was closer to 8,000.
BANGLADESH
Protests seeking anti-blasphemy law turn deadly
Two days of rioting in Bangladesh by conservative Islamists demanding an anti-blasphemy law have left at least 19 people dead, more than 100 wounded and dozens of shops and vehicles destroyed, the official news agency BSS reported Monday. Police officers armed with water cannons, sound grenades, tear gas and cudgels battled the protesters Sunday and Monday in Dhaka, the capital, while the authorities banned further rallies and closed an Islamist television station accused of inciting the trouble, BSS reported on its website. It said at least three of the dead were police officers.
IRAQ
Bomb attacks kill at least 10
Two car bombs blew up in a Baghdad suburb, the deadlier of two attacks Monday that left at least 10 dead in the Iraqi capital. The two parked cars exploded simultaneously in a street in Husseinya, killing five civilians and as well as a policeman at a nearby checkpoint, two police officers said. It was not clear what they were targeting. Twenty-one other people including 17 civilians were wounded, they added. Inside Baghdad, a bomb went off outside a restaurant at lunchtime in the southern Dora neighborhood, two other police officers said. Four customers at the restaurant were killed and 11 people wounded, they added.
PUERTO RICO
More Haitians using new migrant route
Haitians have been fleeing their troubled country for years, but a newly popular route has taken officials by surprise. Hundreds of Haitian migrants have made their way to Puerto Rico in recent months. They’ve found that if they can make it to the U.S. territory without getting arrested, they can fly on to U.S. cities such as Miami, Boston or New York without having to show a passport, although some kind of identification, such as a driver’s license, is needed. Immigration authorities checking travelers before they leave Puerto Rico for the U.S. mainland sometimes find them carrying fake driver’s licenses or other identification, but counterfeit documents are not always detected.
CUBA
Spy unrepentant but hopes for better ties
A Cuban-American who spent 13 years in a U.S. prison for espionage says he still has deep affection for the United States and hopes to see the two countries reconcile. But Rene Gonzalez added that he does not regret his decision to spy for Cuba. Gonzalez also said he would welcome an exchange of prisoners that would send a jailed U.S. government subcontractor home in return for freedom for four other Cuban agents still serving sentences in America. Monday’s interview was Gonzalez’s first since a U.S. judge ruled Friday that he could remain in Cuba in return for renouncing his U.S. citizenship.
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