Kandahar, Afghanistan: Top Afghan policewoman dies of bullet wound
A top policewoman in southern Afghanistan died Monday after being shot by unknown attackers, months after her predecessor was also slain. Her death, one of the latest in a string of attacks on prominent Afghan women, could make it even harder to recruit female officers in a deeply conservative nation where just 1 percent of the police are women.
Sub-Inspector Negar, who like many Afghans goes by one name, was buying grass for her lambs outside her home on Sunday when two gunmen drove up on a motorbike and fired at her, said Omar Zawak, a spokesman for the governor of Helmand province. She suffered a bullet wound to the neck, and the attackers got away.
Kabul, Afghanistan: Race to succeed Karzai kicks off in Afghanistan
Afghanistan's presidential race kicked off Monday as election authorities began accepting the nominations of would-be candidates, the start of a wide-open race whose winner will oversee the final phases of the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops amid a relentless Taliban insurgency.
The first day of registration drew ... no one.
No major candidates are expected to submit their nominations until closer to the Oct. 6 deadline, part of a waiting game to see how the field shapes up.
The election, set for April 5, will determine who succeeds incumbent President Hamid Karzai, who has in some form or shape led Afghanistan since the Taliban government was ousted in the American-led invasion in 2001. Karzai is barred from running for a third four-year term.
Moscow: Russian shot in quarrel over Kant's philosophy
An argument in southern Russia over philosopher Immanuel Kant, the author of "Critique of Pure Reason," devolved into pure mayhem when one debater shot the other.
A police spokeswoman in Rostov-on Don, Viktoria Safarova, said two men in their 20s were discussing Kant as they stood in line to buy beer at a store on Sunday. The discussion deteriorated into a fistfight and one participant pulled out a small pistol and fired.
The victim was hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening, Safarova said. Neither debater was identified.
Havana: Cuba, U.S. open talks on direct mail service
U.S. and Cuban representatives met in Havana on Monday for renewed talks on re-establishing direct mail service, 50 years after it was severed amid Cold War tensions relations.
The American delegation was led by Lea Emerson, executive director for international postal affairs at the U.S. Postal Service, and included State Department officials. They met with Cuban counterparts.
A State Department communique called the talks "fruitful" and said delegates would tour Cuban mail facilities Tuesday.
Mail service between the two countries was canceled in 1963. Currently, letters mailed from the U.S. to Cuba and vice versa take circuitous paths through third countries even though just 90 miles of sea separates the island nation from Florida.
Bogota, Colombia: Ex-Colombian President Uribe to run for Senate
Alvaro Uribe has become the first former Colombian president in modern times to attempt a return to politics through Congress.
The combative conservative who led Colombia from 2002 to 2010 announced Monday he is running for Senate in March elections, two months before a presidential vote. Uribe is constitutionally barred from a third presidential term.
Uribe, a fierce critic of President Juan Manuel Santos, has an approval rating of 63 percent, more than 40 points higher than that of Santos.
Medan, Indonesia: Volcano eruption forces thousands to flee homes
About 6,200 people were evacuated from their western Indonesian villages after the eruption of Mount Sinabung, officials said Monday.
The volcano in North Sumatra province erupted Sunday after being dormant for three years, sending thick ash into the sky with small rocks pelting neighboring villages.
Sanaa, Yemen: Yemen receives first U.S. reconnaissance aircraft
Yemen has received two U.S. reconnaissance airplanes as part of an aid package to help fight terrorism, Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nasser said Monday.
U.S. pilots will train Yemeni counterparts on how to use the new aircraft.
US & World
Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis complained to police in Rhode Island last month that people were talking to him through the walls and ceilings of his hotel rooms and sending microwave vibrations into his body.
The gunman in the mass shootings at the Washington Navy Yard, Aaron Alexis, had a history of violent outbursts, and was at least twice accused of firing guns in anger.
