IN BRIEF

Iraq

Suicide bombings kill at least 22

An Iraqi provincial official says suicide attacks in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, have killed at least 22 people. The official, a member of the Salahuddin provincial council, said five suicide bombers on foot targeted a police patrol and broke into a police officer's house in Tikrit's al-Zihoor neighborhood the night before. Ahmed al-Karim said that three bombers were killed by security forces, while two blew themselves up. He says that at least 10 policemen were among the dead and that up to 31 people were wounded in Tuesday night's attacks.

Australia

Police seize record meth haul

Police on Wednesday said they had seized a record 903 kilograms of methamphetamines worth $680 million in Melbourne this year. Two Australian men were arrested over the drugs, concealed in the floor boards of a factory, law enforcement officials said, without disclosing the date of the anti-drug operation.

Argentina

Former president faces trial for fraud

Former Argentinean president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is facing a federal court trial on charges of conspiracy and money laundering. A statement on Tuesday by the court added that federal judge Claudio Bonadio had frozen assets belonging to Fernandez de Kirchner, who was in power from 2007 to 2015, worth $8.4 million. Kirchner is accused of laundering assets and of blurring the line between her political role and business interests.

Iran

Magnitude-6.1 earthquake kills 2

A powerful magnitude-6.1 earthquake struck northeastern Iran near the holy city of Mashhad on Wednesday, killing at least two people as residents fled onto the streets and aftershocks shook the region. The shallow temblor damaged at least four villages near its epicenter in the Sefid Sang district, a remote mountainous area home to 5,000 people.

Afghanistan

Kabul hires women as street cleaners

Kabul municipality has hired 170 women to clean the streets in the densely populated city, local newspaper the Daily Outlook reported on Wednesday. This is the first time that the city has hired women to clean streets in the conservative society, the paper said, adding that the city plans to employee 500 women to keep the city clean.

Thailand

Ten soldiers wanted over death

Thai police have accused 10 soldiers of beating a 22-year-old army conscript to death in a military prison, as the army races to limit damage from the scandal unfolding during its annual draft. News of the death on April 1 emerged just as the armed forces launched an annual conscription exercise that will see 100,000 men aged 21 and over enlisted into the military for up two years.