Afghanistan

U.S. soldier, 4 Afghans killed in ambushes

Militants mounted a series of attacks near Afghanistan’s lawless border with Pakistan, killing a U.S. soldier and at least four Afghan police officers, while three Afghan civilians were wounded by gunfire following the bombing of an American patrol.

The violence this week follows the killing of dozens of rebels in recent battles with U.S. forces and casts doubt on American assertions that a 3-year-old Taliban-led insurgency is running out of steam.

The soldier was slain when his unit was ambushed Tuesday while on patrol near Deh Rawood, 280 miles southwest of the capital, Kabul. He was evacuated to a nearby base but pronounced dead by doctors.

The soldier’s name was not released pending notification of his relatives.

Farther south, Taliban militants ambushed a convoy Tuesday carrying the police chief of the Dishu district of Helmand province, killing four officers and abducting two others, Mayor Mohammed Rahim told The Associated Press. The police chief was unhurt.

Sri Lanka

Bus-train collision leaves dozens dead

A passenger train rammed into a bus that tried to dash through a railroad crossing Wednesday, killing at least 35 people and injuring another 60. Witnesses said people, some of them on fire, jumped out of windows after the crash.

All the dead and injured were aboard the bus, which the train dragged for about 100 yards before the bus burst into flames and ended up a mangled heap of metal. Open suitcases and passengers’ clothes were strewn about.

The private passenger bus was apparently racing another bus when it zipped past a warning gate and tried to cross a railroad track at Polgahawela, a small town surrounded by rice- and coconut-farming villages about 50 miles northeast of the capital, Colombo.

“Our initial investigation suggests that two buses were competing with each other to reach Colombo faster,” said police spokesman Rienzie Perera.

Both the driver and conductor of the bus were arrested Wednesday, after authorities found them at a local hospital. Police were guarding them from angry survivors.

Japan

Death toll reaches 101 in train crash

The commuter train that derailed Monday was running at an average speed of nearly 75 mph to make up for a delay that occurred when the driver overshot the stopping point at a station, according to West Japan Railway Co. and other sources.

Wednesday night, the death toll from the accident in Amagasaki stood at 101, with 458 people injured, according to the police. The fire department said more than 10 passengers were still trapped in the train’s front car.

Emergency workers found a body seated at the front of the train that is believed to be driver Ryujiro Takami, but that had not been confirmed, the Kyodo news agency reported.

Lebanon

Elections quickly set after Syrian withdrawal

A day after the last Syrian troops departed, the Lebanese government Wednesday set a schedule for elections that many had feared would be delayed by political squabbling.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati set the balloting for four consecutive Sundays starting May 29. The U.S. and its European allies have pushed for that time frame, warning that any delay would destabilize the country further. Lebanese elections usually are staggered over several Sundays because the government cannot logistically hold elections in all parts of the country on a single day.

Haiti

Gunfire kills five in demonstration

Police fired on protesters demanding the release of detainees loyal to Haiti’s ousted president Wednesday, killing at least five demonstrators, U.N. officials and witnesses said.

Witnesses said Haitian police arrived as the demonstrators neared the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the capital of Port-au-Prince and fired shots to disperse the crowd.

U.N. mission spokesman Damian Onses-Cardona confirmed that police opened fire on demonstrators but had no further information. U.N. civilian police spokesman Dan Moskaluk said peacekeepers found five bodies.

Haitian police could not be reached for comment.

The incident marked the third time in three months that police have fatally opened fire on demonstrators in Port-au-Prince.