A militant strapped with more than 100 pounds of explosives and disguised in an army uniform blew himself up in a crowded mess hall Wednesday as brutal attacks across Iraq killed 53 people.
Meanwhile, in a raid in a dangerous neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraqi and U.S. forces freed Australian hostage Douglas Wood, who was held by insurgents for 47 days.
FAMILY MEMBERS DIE IN WELL: Three members of a family died and a police officer was critically injured while trying to rescue a boy who had fallen into a 75-foot well filled with an unspecified gas in Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday.
DEADLY HYENA GUNNED DOWN: Police and wildlife rangers tracked down and killed a rabid hyena that mauled to death nine people and injured 15 in Malawi on Monday, officials said Wednesday.
TSUNAMI MOMS WANT KIDS AGAIN: Many of the Sri Lankan mothers left childless after the Asian tsunami six months ago are seeking a reversal of their tubal ligations to allow them to have more babies. No statistics are available on how many women want to have the reversal, but doctors and officials say the number has grown since the tsunami.
DEATH ENDS LONGEST MARRIAGE: Percy Arrowsmith, who with his wife set the record two weeks ago for the world’s longest marriage, died Wednesday in Britain, his wife of 80 years by his side. He was 105. They set the Guinness record June 1.
CANADA TO ARM BORDER AGENTS? A Canadian Senate report released Wednesday said customs agents should carry weapons like their U.S. counterparts to prevent terror threats, and blasted Ottawa and Washington for not doing more to secure the 4,000-mile shared border.
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Compiled from news services and edited by Patrick Olsen (polsen@tribune.com) and Scott Kleinberg (skleinberg@tribune.com)
