Officials: 29 dead in suicide bombing

Officials: 29 dead in suicide bombing

baghdad

A suicide bomber blew himself up inside Baghdad’s largest Sunni mosque Sunday night, killing 29 people during prayers, a shocking strike on a place of worship similar to the one that brought Iraq to the brink of civil war five years ago.

Iraqi security officials said parliament lawmaker Khalid al-Fahdawi, a Sunni, was among the dead in the 9:40 p.m attack.

Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, a spokesman for Baghdad’s military operations command, confirmed the bombing happened inside the Um al-Qura mosque during prayers in the western Baghdad neighborhood of al-Jamiaah.

Ind. vouchers prompt changing of schools

south bend, ind.

Weeks after Indiana began the nation’s broadest school voucher program, thousands of students have transferred from public to private schools, causing a spike in enrollment at some Catholic institutions that were only recently on the brink of closing for lack of pupils.

It’s a scenario public school advocates have long feared: Students fleeing local districts in large numbers, taking with them vital tax dollars that often end up at parochial schools. Opponents say the practice violates the separation of church and state.

Under a law signed in May by Gov. Mitch Daniels, more than 3,200 Indiana students are receiving vouchers to attend private schools. That number is expected to climb significantly in the next two years as awareness of the program increases and limits on the number of applicants are lifted.

Fire near Yosemite leads to evacuations

yosemite national park, calif.

About 100 people have been ordered to leave their homes as a wildfire burns outside Yosemite National Park, fire officials said Sunday.

Residents of the community of Rancheria were told to evacuate Saturday, while residents of the nearby communities of Yosemite West, Old El Portal, Incline and Jerseydale have also been told they may have to leave.

The blaze, which is burning in a steep and rugged area of thick forests along Highway 140, has also forced the indefinite closure of the roadway. The highway, one of the main entrances into the park, is shut down for nearly a 15-mile stretch.

Al-Qaida offshoot did Algeria attack

algiers, algeria

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility Sunday for the attack on a military academy in Algeria that killed 18 people, including 16 officers in training.

Al-Qaida’s North African wing said in a statement posted online that two suicide bombers carried out Friday’s attack on the Cherchell military academy.

The defense ministry says the attack killed 16 officers and two civilians, and wounded 26 others. AQIM says it killed 36 officers and wounded 35.

Safety of UN Nigeria HQ is in question

abuja, nigeria

Two top U.N. officials offered conflicting views Sunday on the safety of its Nigeria headquarters after a suicide car bombing there, as the world body paused to mourn the 23 people killed in the attack claimed by a radical Muslim sect.

U.N. security chief Gregory Starr acknowledged that safety features “could have been better” to stop the speeding sedan loaded with explosives. But only hours later, U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told journalists the building had “really tight” security.

Associated Press