ColombO / AFP Sri Lanka’s president on Wednesday accused top anti-corruption officials of launching politically motivated prosecutions against former military leaders, putting himself on a collision course with his own unity government. Maithripala Sirisena took the unusual step of publicly condemning criminal charges brought last month against three retired admirals and the former defence secretary, the brother of his …

  Mazar-i-Sharif / AP At least 14 Shiites were killed on Wednesday in a bombing at a mosque in northern Afghanistan, the second deadly attack on the minority in as many days during the major festival of Ashura. “The explosion happened at the gate of the Shiite mosque in the centre of Balkh district (in Balkh province),” said provincial governor’s …

  Karbala / AFP Huge crowds of black-clad Shiite Muslim pilgrims thronged the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala on Wednesday, weeping and beating their chests in mourning for the seventh-century killing of the prophet’s grandson. Shiites around the world mark Ashura, but attacks on those commemorating bloodshed 1,300 years ago often result in more mourning and loss, including in Afghanistan, …