Islamic State loyalists claim
Saudi mosque attack
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A suicide bomber unleashed a blast in a Shiite mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia as worshippers commemorated the birth of a revered saint, killing at least 21 people and wounding dozens more in the deadliest attack seen in the kingdom in more than a decade. Loyalists of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the bombing.
The claim of responsibility, made in a statement circulated on pro-IS Twitter feeds, could not be independently confirmed. It was issued by what purported to be a Saudi branch of the Islamic State group, which is based in Syria and Iraq, but it was not known if the perpetrators had a direct connection with the group’s leadership or were sympathizers acting independently in its name.
Friday’s bombing took place in the village of al-Qudeeh in the eastern Qatif region, the heartland of Saudi Arabia’s Shiite Muslim minority, which has long complained of discrimination in the country, ruled by the ultraconservative Wahhabi interpretation of Sunni Islam.
The bomber stood among the worshippers in the Imam Ali mosque then detonated his explosives as people began to file out, Habib Mahmoud, managing editor for the state-linked Al-Sharq newspaper in Qatif, told The Associated Press. A local activist, Naseema al-Sada, told the AP by telephone from Qatif that the worshippers were commemorating the birth of Imam Hussain, a 7th century figure revered among Shiites.
At least 21 people were killed and more than 60 wounded, the spokesman for the provincial health services Asad Saoud said, according to the state news agency SPA. It appeared the number was likely to rise, with at least 40 critical cases.
Cuba removed from US list of state sponsors of terrorism
HAVANA — The Obama administration formally removed Cuba from the U.S. terrorism blacklist Friday, a decision hailed in Cuba as the healing of a decades-old wound and an important step toward normalizing relations between the Cold War foes.
Secretary of State John Kerry signed off on rescinding Cuba’s “state sponsor of terrorism” designation exactly 45 days after the Obama administration informed Congress of its intent to do so on April 14. Lawmakers had that amount of time to weigh in and try to block the move, but did not do so.
Nigeria’s new president pledges to end insurgency
ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s new president was sworn in on Friday and pledged to tackle Boko Haram “head on,” asserting the fight against the Islamic extremists wouldn’t be won until hundreds of schoolgirls abducted last year and other kidnapping victims were brought home alive.
Muhammadu Buhari’s new administration won a signal of support from the United States, which indicated it was prepared to increase military aid.
The inauguration turned into a nationwide celebration by Nigerians welcoming their country’s newly reinforced democracy after Buhari became the first candidate to defeat a sitting president at the polls since the end of military rule in 1999.
With dancing and the release of white doves symbolizing peace, Nigerians hailed the handover of power in an African nation marked by superlatives: the most populous nation, the biggest oil producer, the largest economy.
Nigeria also confronts the most deadly conflict on the continent — the insurgency by Boko Haram that has killed more than 13,000 people and driven more than 1.5 million from their homes.
Chinese weaponry spotted on artificial island, US says
SINGAPORE — U.S. surveillance detected two large artillery vehicles on one of the artificial islands that China is creating in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said Friday, heightening concerns that Beijing could use the land reclamation projects for military purposes.
The revelation came as Defense Secretary Ash Carter was in the region for an international security summit in Singapore where he is expected to demand anew that China and other nations halt all such projects. While scolding China for aggression, Carter is not expected to offer any indication of what the U.S. might do if the projects proceed.
The weaponry was discovered at least several weeks ago, and two U.S. officials who are familiar with intelligence about the vehicles say they have been removed. The officials weren’t authorized to discuss the intelligence and spoke only on condition of anonymity.
The Pentagon would not release any photos to support its contention that the vehicles were there.
New immunotherapy drug outperforms chemotherapy for a form of lung cancer
CHICAGO — A new drug that unleashes the body’s immune system on cancer cells performed better than a traditional chemotherapy agent in fighting an advanced form of lung cancer, researchers reported Friday. The new drug was also less toxic to patients.
Nivolumab, one of three government-approved drugs that stimulate the immune system to take on foreign invaders, improved outcomes for 19.2 percent of patients with non-squamous cell non-small cell lung cancer, compared with 12.4 percent of people who were treated with docetaxel. Patients also survived longer — a median of 12.2 months vs. 9.4 months for those on chemotherapy, and saw a 27 percent smaller chance of death while on the drug.
Patients whose tumors released a specific kind of protein did even better in the study of 582 people, surviving 17.2 months, vs. 5.6 months for the chemotherapy group.
By wire sources
