Afghan civilians killed

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

KABUL: A suicide attacker rammed a truck packed with explosives into a checkpoint at a NATO base on Friday, killing up to seven Afghan civilians in the east of the country, a security official said. “The attacker drove his truck full of explosives into the first security checkpost of the NATO base. Initial information shows that seven Afghans have been killed and 13 others injured,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in Khost province, near the Pakistani border, after which insurgents attacked the base. “No Afghan or member of the International Security Assistance Force was killed in the attack,” an ISAF spokesman said, adding that 14 rebels were killed in the clashes, which are now over.

Briton admits killing

LONDON: A man on Friday admitted shooting dead an Indian student in Britain but denied murder and will stand trial later this year. Kiaran Stapleton, 21, walked up to complete stranger Anuj Bidve, 23, and shot him once in the head at point-blank range in Salford near Manchester, in the early hours of December 26 last year. Appearing at Manchester Crown Court, Stapleton pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. He will go on trial for murder on June 25 with the trial expected to last 12 days. Stapleton, who was wearing a grey jogging top and bottoms, was flanked in the glass-framed dock by four security guards. He sat calmly throughout the hearing with his hands clasped. Bidve’s parents, Subhash and Yogini, were in court and sat to the right of the dock, out of sight of the defendant. They listened intently as Stapleton gave his pleas and was remanded in custody.