Briefly

AFGHANISTAN

Car bomb in capital kills 2, injures 3

Two people were killed and three others were injured in a blast that rocked a district in the Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday, Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said. "A Toyota Corolla car, carrying an explosive device, exploded in Police District 17 in today's afternoon, killing two countrymen and injuring three others," Nafi wrote in a tweet. Without providing further details, the official said security personnel had reached the area and initiated an investigation. The blast coincided with the first anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led forces from Afghanistan. The Taliban administration celebrated the first anniversary of the forces' defeat and their pullout from Afghanistan in the former main US military base Bagram on Wednesday.

CANADA

3 officers charged with toddler's shooting death

Three Canadian police officers have been charged with manslaughter over the death of an 18-month-old child during a shooting in Ontario in 2020, the government announced on Wednesday. Jameson Shapiro died in Kawartha Lakes, about 100 kilometers north of Toronto, on Nov 26,2020, during a shootout between his father and police. The baby died on the spot. The case has made national headlines in Canada, where firearms-related incidents account for less than 3 percent of all violent crimes. "The director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has reasonable grounds to believe that three Ontario provincial police officers committed criminal offenses in relation to the death of 18-month-old Jameson Shapiro," the independent federal agency said in a statement.

UNITED KINGDOM

Queen prepares to receive next PM

Queen Elizabeth II will receive the new prime minister next week at her Scottish retreat, royal officials said on Wednesday, in the first ceremony away from London in her record-breaking reign. Normally, the audience to accept the resignation of the outgoing prime minister and the so-called "kissing of the hands "ceremony with their replacement takes place at Buckingham Palace. With the queen's official London residence just a short drive from Downing Street, the handover is usually a swift affair. The winner of the Conservative Party leadership race between Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former finance minister Rishi Sunak is due to be announced on Monday.

Agencies - Xinhua