Karzai accuses US, British forces

Karzai accuses US, British forces

KABUL, Afghanistan

President Hamid Karzai accused British and U.S. forces Tuesday of continuing to operate “illegal” detention facilities in the country, another volley in the rancorous disagreement between the Afghan leader and his foreign backers over what to do with captured Taliban suspects.

A Karzai-appointed investigation panel found six Afghan detainees at a British-run facility at Kandahar Air Field in the south and 17 more at a British detention facility at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, according to commission leader Gen. Ghalum Farooq Barakzai. He said no detainees were found at the American facilities but said they should no longer even exist.

Police: Stabbing suspect confessed

HARTFORD, Conn.

A teenager charged in the fatal stabbing of a Connecticut high-school student told a police officer after the attack: “I did it,” according to a court filing released Tuesday.

The 16-year-old defendant, Christopher Plaskon, has been charged with murder in the slaying of Maren Sanchez, a friend who was killed last week in a hallway of Jonathan Law High School in Milford.

A witness saw Plaskon on top of the 16-year-old victim during the attack, and tried unsuccessfully to pull him away, and another saw him discard a bloody knife, according to a police affidavit. Plaskon was inside the principal’s office with bloody clothes when an officer arrived and asked what happened. “I did it. Just arrest me,” Plaskon replied, according to the officer.

54 die in attacks

DAMASCUS, Syria

A massive double car bombing and a mortar strike targeted pro-government neighborhoods Tuesday in two of Syria’s largest cities, killing at least 54 people a day after President Bashar Assad declared his candidacy for re-election.

The attacks in Damascus and Homs heightened fears of an escalation ahead of the contentious June 3 vote and showed that despite a series of battlefield setbacks, the rebels remain capable of hitting the government and its core of support.

Sanctions criticized

HAVANA

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday rejected U.S. and European Union sanctions that seek to pressure Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine.

Speaking in Havana, where he met with Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez, Lavrov criticized the penalties after the EU named 15 additional people subjected to sanctions earlier in the day.

The EU announcement brings to 48 the number of Russians or pro-Russian individuals in Ukraine targeted by the European bloc for sanctions. Any accounts or assets they hold in EU countries will be frozen, and they are barred from travel to the bloc’s member states.

Washington also has expanded its own sanctions to include seven Russian government officials and 17 companies with links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

E-cigarette bans

NEW YORK

Laws in New York and Chicago making electronic cigarettes subject to the same regulations as tobacco are taking effect, and their sellers and users are steadfast in their opposition.

The New York ban, the measure in Chicago, one that previously went into effect in Los Angeles and federal regulations proposed last week are keeping debate smoldering among public health officials, the e-cigarette industry and users.

Proponents of the bans, which began Tuesday, say they are aimed at preventing the re-acceptance of smoking as a societal norm, particularly among teenagers who could see the tobacco-free electronic cigarettes as a gateway to cancer-causing tobacco products.

Associated Press