Kabul university attack: 12 killed as gunmen open fire on campus

Twelve people were killed in an attack on a university in Kabul, the Afghan capital, a spokesman for the Chief of Kabul Police tells CNN. Two gunmen who were still on the site were killed Thursday morning in a police operation.

Seven students, three policemen and two security guards were killed in the attack on the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul campus, Basir Mujahid, the spokesman said. Thirty students were injured in the attack, which no group has yet claimed responsibility for.

Around 750 students were on campus at the time, he added.

Explosions, gunfire

The gunmen detonated explosives and fired guns, witnesses said, causing some students and faculty to flee. Others hid inside buildings, a senior State Department official told CNN.

The first blast occurred at 7:50 p.m., when students were gathering and eating together.

Two professors, an American and an Australian, were abducted from the same university earlier this month. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

Despite its name, few Americans study at the school, a senior US State Department official told CNN. But a number of Americans serve on the faculty and may have been trapped inside buildings. The school is regarded as a symbol of cooperation between Afghanistan and the United States.

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World's friendliest cities, according to Conde Nast Traveler

Charleston, South Carolina is all the rage this year.

The southern town where the US Civil War started is now the friendliest city in the world, according to Conde Nast Traveler's 29th annual Readers' Choice Awards.

"More and more people are going to Charleston," Conde Nast deputy digital editor Laura Redman tells CNN.

"Europeans are heading to Charleston because they've heard about the food and the architecture. It's getting great press, and it's having a moment."

Sydney came in second place, followed by Dublin in third place.

Conde Nast, which just published lists of the friendliest US cities and friendliest cities in the world, created one combined list for CNN.

More than 100,000 readers responded to the travel magazine's reader survey of favorite cities, hotels, resorts, islands, airlines, cruise lines, future travel destinations and, for the fourth year in a row, reader opinions of the world's friendliest cities.

To arriving travelers, a city can get a reputation for friendliness through its locals and its appearance.

Charleston, Savannah and Nashville, all southern US cities, stand out as spots where locals are quick to offer directions and other assistance -- and where the locals talk to each other.

"They haven't lost their Southern charm," says Redman.

Hotel or resort staff greeting guests on arrival with an easy check-in process and refreshing beverages, sometimes specifically for the children, also stands out.

Cities that are easily navigable and offer guests the chance to feel like a local also feel friendly to visitors, she says.

Conde Nast Traveler's top 10 friendliest cities

1. Charleston, South Carolina

2. Sydney, Australia

3. Dublin, Ireland

4. Queenstown, New Zealand

5. Park City, Utah

6. Galway, Ireland

7. Savannah, Georgia

8. Krakow, Poland

9. Bruges, Belgium

10. Nashville, Tennessee

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Canada's stolen daughters: Sex traffickers target indigenous Canadians

As Lauren Chopek painfully details her story, she does so with the reticence of a survivor, as if somehow remaining silent would have been better.

"I used to blame myself for everything. But, like I, I would say I let them do that to me. I am dirty. It's my fault," says Chopek through tears.

But Chopek is finally speaking out, determined to shake the guilt and shame that she knows should stalk her perpetrators instead of her.

"Now I see that I was just a child," says Chopek, now sitting serenely in a safe house, a healing lodge in rural Manitoba that cradled her in the love and protection she so needed when she escaped her life on the streets.

Now 19, Lauren was just 14 when she was sexually exploited and trafficked for sex in her hometown of Winnipeg. But as an indigenous girl in Canada, her story is hardly rare.

Canada's indigenous population is very small -- just 4% of the population -- yet more than 50% of all sex trafficking victims in Canada are indigenous. The reasons are complicated and varied but are ultimately rooted in a legacy of poverty, racism and abuse.

"I was actually making these bad choices for a reason," explains Chopek. "You know when you experience sexual abuse it's really confusing. You never know if it's your fault or is it theirs?

Fighting sex trafficking on the streets of Winnipeg 04:46

Outreach on neighborhood streets is one strategy that is executed with the help of law enforcement officers. Almost daily, Winnipeg Police dispatch an elite unit on the streets to try and counter sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

The approach is a departure for Winnipeg Police, who now say their efforts are firmly focused on helping victims. Outreach is conducted in a way to help victims and then bring their perpetrators to justice.

There is bias in the police service. We recognize it, that there's implicit bias. We certainly have taken steps to try to address that in a myriad of ways.

Danny Smyth, Winnipeg's Deputy Police Chief

Law enforcement officials acknowledge a history of bias and racism that in the past prevented police from truly understanding how and why indigenous girls are vulnerable and at risk.

"There is bias in the police service. We recognize it, that there's implicit bias. We certainly have taken steps to try to address that in a myriad of ways," says Danny Smyth, Winnipeg's deputy police chief.

"We have a team that's dedicated just to outreach. Just to being out there and trying to get to know who's out on the street, and trying to establish a relationship with them," adds Smyth.

The legacy of years of abuse and racism though are making it difficult for Canada's indigenous community to heal and move on. Canada will soon launch an inquiry that will focus on why hundreds of indigenous women and girls have gone missing or been murdered over the years.

Canadian and independent studies have revealed that indigenous women and girls are five times more likely to die in violent circumstances than non-indigenous women and girls.

"We're still in a society that targets indigenous women and girls. In fact the national task force concluded that there's a market for indigenous girls," says Redsky, adding, "what that leads to is a society who views indigenous women as less than, and in fact of no human value."

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Quake leaves 247 dead; rescuers race to find survivors in Italy

An earthquake, about 10 kilometers deep, has shaken central Italy. Here's what we know:

• 6.2-magnitude quake struck near the town of Norcia at 3:36 a.m. local time
• An hour later, a 5.5-magnitude aftershock hit just four kilometers north of the same town
• Several buildings collapsed in the mountain town of Amatrice

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US says it doesn’t support Balochistan’s independence

WASHINGTON: The United States categorically assured Pakistan on Tuesday that it did not support independence for Balochistan.

In an earlier statement, the US State Department shared with Dawn its general commitment to Pakistan’s territorial integrity and distanced itself from India’s effort to stir an international controversy over Balochistan.

But on Tuesday, the State Department shared another statement with Dawn, removing all ambiguities about its stance on an issue that many Pakistanis fear can be exploited to endanger the very existence of their country.

“The US government respects the unity and territorial integrity of Pakistan, and we do not support independence for Balochistan,” said a State Department official in the statement shared with Dawn.

Read: US refuses to back Modi’s claims on AJK

But the official also expressed US concerns about the human rights situation in the province where Pakistan is fighting a simmering insurgency by both separatists and religious extremists.

International monitors claim that both insurgents and security forces commit human rights violations in Balochistan.

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Official also expresses concern over human rights situation in province

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“We do have concerns about the human rights situation there, and have reported that for several years in our Human Rights Report,” the State Department official said.

“However, we have consistently urged all parties in Pakistan to work out their differences peaceably and through a valid political process,” the official added.

Hundreds of people have been killed in Balochistan in attacks on sectarian and ethnic minorities while scores of people have disappeared. Sometimes, tortured bodies of those who disappear are found abandoned in remote areas.

Baloch nationalists blame the security forces for those disappearances, a charge the government rejects as incorrect and accuses the militants of kidnapping people and of killing them when they fail to get ransom.

In a speech last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi too talked about the situation in Balochistan and urged Indian diplomats and the media to highlight this issue.

Pakistan reacted angrily to the speech, calling it a breach of international norms and intrusion in the country’s sovereignty.

While commenting on Mr Modi’s statement, Pakistani officials and the media said that the Indian prime minister was trying to hide the atrocities committed by Indian security forces in occupied Kashmir by bracketing the situation in the valley with Balochistan, which, unlike occupied Kashmir, was not a disputed territory.

They pointed out that Kashmir was an internationally recognised issue and there were UN resolutions supporting the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people.

But the Indian effort to internationalise the situation in Balochistan received support from the Bangladeshi government and former Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

During a visit to India earlier this week, Bangladeshi Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu said Bangladesh supported Mr Modi’s stand on Balochistan and Dhaka would soon make a policy declaration on this issue.

Mr Karzai, who was also in New Delhi this week, said that Mr Modi’s remarks should make the Pakistani government “see the gravity of the situation”.

Meanwhile, at a State Department news briefing, a journalist drew the spokesman’s attention to India’s decision to register a sedition case against Amnesty International. Indian authorities claimed that Amnesty International committed sedition when it held a seminar to highlight the fate of broken families in occupied Kashmir.

“We’ve seen these reports that local police in Bangalore have initiated preliminary investigation into allegations of sedition against Amnesty International,” said Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner.

“We obviously, as we do around the world, support the right to freedom of expression and assembly, including through civil society,” he added. “We respect the right for Amnesty and others to express themselves freely.”

The official, however, urged the journalist to contact the Bangalore police for more details.

Responding to another question, the official urged both India and Pakistan to resume their dialogue for reducing tensions in South Asia.

“We strongly support all efforts between India and Pakistan that can contribute to a more stable and prosperous region, and that includes meetings at any level between Indian and Pakistani officials,” Mr Toner said.

“Our longstanding position has always been that India and Pakistan stand to benefit from a normalisation of relations and practical cooperation, and so we would be encouraged that India and Pakistan continue to engage in direct dialogue aimed at reducing tensions,” he said.

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