Detroit
Honda is recalling minivans because of fuel pump cover
Honda Motor Co. is recalling 886,815 Odyssey minivans in the United States because a fuel pump cover can deteriorate and cause a fuel leak. Odysseys from 2005 through 2010 model years are involved. The minivans were made between June 23, 2004, and Sept. 4, 2010. According to documents posted Saturday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the cover on the fuel pump strainer can wear down from exposure to high temperatures and acidic chemicals, like those found in fertilizers. Fuel leaks can cause a vehicle fire. Honda says no fires or injuries have been reported. Dealers will repair the vehicles for free, but the company says replacement parts may not be available until this summer.
Pakistan
Sentence of physician cut in bin Laden case
A Pakistani official reduced by 10 years the 33-year sentence of a Pakistani medical doctor who had helped the CIA track down Osama bin Laden, local news media reported Saturday.
The doctor, Shakil Afridi, was arrested in 2011 after members of a U.S. Navy SEAL unit killed bin Laden in his Abbottabad compound. In 2012, Afridi was convicted of treason and sentenced to 33 years in prison. The judicial official, Munir Azam, reduced the sentence to 23 years.
India
Court stays hanging of 2 rape case convicts
India's top court on Saturday temporarily stayed the hanging of two of the four men convicted for the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi.
The Supreme Court's order came in response to a petition filed by an attorney for the two men that said the appeals court that confirmed the death sentence this past week had completely ignored their defense. The court scheduled a hearing for March 31.
An attorney for the other two convicted men, who also face the death penalty, said he would approach the court soon.
Elsewhere
Egypt: Gunmen stormed an Egyptian army checkpoint outside Cairo early Saturday morning and killed six soldiers, including some still in their beds, officials said, in what amounted to an escalation by militants on military targets near the capital.
Times wires