A SUICIDE bomber has targeted a campaign rally by President Ashraf Ghani in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 24 people and wounding 31, officials said.
Ghani was at the venue but was unharmed, according to his campaign chief.
Hours later, an explosion struck near the US embassy in the capital Kabul but details were not immediately known.
The Taliban claimed both attacks, which came as Afghanistan faces presidential elections on September 28. The Taliban have warned that polling stations and election campaigns will be targeted.
In yesterday’s suicide attack, the bomber rammed a motorcycle packed with explosives into the entrance of the venue where Ghani was campaigning on the outskirts of the city of Charakar in northern Parwan province.
MEANWHILE, former Italian premier Matteo Renzi (pictured) has left the ruling Democratic Party to set up a new centrist force, in a risky move that further weakens an already shaky government forged only two weeks ago by the centre-left Democrats and the populist 5-Star Movement.
Renzi announced his departure yesterday morning, after explaining the abrupt move in an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica.
He wrote: “I have decided to leave the PD and to build together with others a new house to do politics differently.”
The former premier has recently regained a central role in Italian politics, using his influence in parliament to push for a coalition.
ELSEWHERE, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam (pictured) says international public relations firms have turned down the government’s requests to help restore the city’s reputation after months of protests.
The firms said “the time is not right” as the violence and unrest in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory have shown no sign of ending, Lam said at a news conference. She did not give details on the firms or when they were approached. The city’s reputation has been tarnished not just by the protests but also by what many view as the government’s slow response to the crisis.
FINALLY, Iran’s supreme leader has announced “there will be no talks with the US at any level” in remarks which appeared to end all speculation about a possible meeting between the two countries’ presidents at the UN later this month.
Iranian state TV quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying this is the position of the entire leadership of the country, and that “all officials in the Islamic Republic unanimously believe” this.
This follows increasing tension due to an attack on major oil sites in Saudi Arabia at the weekend, which the US alleged Iran was responsible for.
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