Pakistan
On Wednesday, Feb. 10, 17 people, including 13 policemen, were killed after a suicide bomber attacked a convoy in Khyber. Because Khyber is located near one of the main supply routes for American soldiers in Pakistan, this was not the first terrorist attack in the region. The bomber was on foot and detonated his explosives as the convoy moved through a market on one of the main roads in Khyber. Those injured were taken to hospitals in Peshawar, the capital city of Khyber.

Haiti
Ten Americans jailed in Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince on kidnapping charges are pleading with the United States government to take action on their behalf. Most of the detainees traveled to Haiti after the Jan. 12 earthquake and are primarily affiliated with Baptist churches in Meridian and Twin Falls, Idaho. The Americans were arrested while attempting to remove 33 Haitian children who had all been taken out of the country to orphanages in the Dominican Republic. While the Americans claim to have been on a charity mission, some of the Haitian children later said that they still had living parents, and prosecutors in Haiti have charged the Americans with kidnapping and criminal association.

Afghanistan
At least 64 people are estimated to have been killed in a series of 17 avalanches in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where snow has buried two miles of highway since Monday, Feb. 8. The avalanches, caused by heavy winds, blocked Kabul’s main route to northern Afghanistan. According to officials, at least 40 people were still trapped under the snow as of Tuesday, Feb. 9. In addition to 500 Afghan National Army troops, NATO sent helicopters to aid in the rescue efforts.

Russia
On Monday, Feb. 8, Russian border guards confiscated 447 bear paws from a truck in the Jewish Autonomous Region close to Russia’s frontier with China. In traditional Eastern medicine and cuisine, the body parts of wild animals such as bears are frequently used. The smuggling of such body parts has historically been a problem along the border between China and Russia.

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