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Extremists kill 36 quarry workers in Kenya, prompting shakeup

 
Published Dec. 3, 2014

Kenya

Extremists kill 36 quarry workers, prompting shakeup

Islamic extremists killed 36 non-Muslim workers in northern Kenya early Tuesday, prompting the president to shake up his security team, firing his interior minister and accepting the resignation of the national police chief. Pressure had been mounting for President Uhuru Kenyatta to replace the two officials following a series of extremist attacks, including one 10 days ago on bus passengers in the same area. The militant group al-Shabab, which has been battling for years to establish hard-line Islamic rule in Somalia, claimed responsibility for the killings at a quarry in Mandera County near the Kenyan-Somali border. Al-Shabab has vowed to attack Kenya for sending its troops into Somalia to fight al-Qaida-linked group. In Tuesday's attack, witnesses said gunmen methodically separated the non-Muslims to be killed, sparing the Muslims. The massacre was similar to a bus attack in the same area Nov. 22, in which Islamist militants held up a passenger bus and then separated Christians from Muslims, killing those who could not recite an Islamic declaration of faith. In that attack, more than 25 people were killed.

Washington

House approves bill to stop Nazi payments

Suspected Nazi war criminals would be blocked from receiving Social Security benefits under a bill unanimously approved Tuesday by the House. The measure would shut a loophole that allowed suspected Nazis to be paid millions of dollars in benefits. The legislation was introduced after an Associated Press investigation in October revealed that Social Security benefits have been paid to dozens of former Nazis after they were forced out of the United States.

Norman, Okla.

Teen charged with rape after protest

Prosecutors charged an 18-year-old Oklahoma teenager on Tuesday with rape in a case that sparked a protest at Norman High School over how administrators handled bullying of alleged victims. Cleveland County prosecutors filed two counts of first-degree rape against Tristen Kole Killman-Hardin, a former student at the school. He is accused of assaulting a 16-year-old girl who was intoxicated and incapable of giving consent, police say.

Knoxville, Tenn.

2 children, adult killed as school buses crash

Two buses bringing children home from school collided on a Tennessee highway Tuesday afternoon, killing two students and an adult and injuring another 27 people. Police said a preliminary investigation indicated one bus made a sharp left turn, crossed over a concrete median and hit the second bus, which was traveling in the opposite direction. The children killed were in third grade or below, said Knoxville police Chief David Rausch. The adult who died was an aide.

Atlanta

Pet Siberian lynx puts woman in hospital

A Siberian lynx attacked a woman in an affluent Atlanta neighborhood Tuesday and landed her in the hospital with injuries to her head. A woman called police to say her friend had been attacked by the large cat. The owners of the animal, which can weigh up to 90 pounds, were out of town and made arrangements for their exotic pet to be fed while they were away, police said. The lynx is now in its cage. When officers arrived in Buckhead, the woman was bleeding heavily from her head.

Elsewhere

Hong Kong: Three co-founders of a pro-democracy campaign that paved the way for demonstrations in Hong Kong's streets told protesting students on Tuesday that it was time to go home. They said the protest camps faced too many dangers of worsening violence.

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Israel: Israel's divided government fell apart Tuesday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired two Cabinet ministers and called for elections more than two years ahead of schedule.

Times wires