WELLINGTON, New Zealand

Quake collapses buildings, multiple deaths reported

A powerful earthquake hit the New Zealand city of Christchurch today, collapsing buildings, burying vehicles under debris and sending rescuers scrambling to help trapped people amid reports of multiple deaths.

Police said they were trying to confirm the early reports of multiple fatalities, while Prime Minister John Key told Parliament details still were too shaky to confirm deaths.

Live video footage showed parts of buildings collapsed into the streets, which were strewn with bricks and shattered concrete. Sidewalks and roads were cracked and split, and hundreds of dazed, screaming and crying residents wandered through the streets as sirens blared throughout the city.

Witnesses said the Christchurch Cathedral, an iconic stone building that stands at the center of the city, was destroyed, its spire toppled into the surrounding square. The airport was closed and Christchurch Hospital was evacuated. Power and telephone lines were knocked out, and pipes burst, flooding the streets with water. Some cars apparently parked on the street were buried under rubble.

KABUL, Afghanistan

Suicide bomber kills 30; security seen as declining

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to an Afghan government office Monday, killing at least 30 people – many who were waiting in line to obtain government identification cards, police said.

The attack occurred around noon in Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province in northern Afghanistan where there has been a sharp slide in security in recent months, said district police chief Abdul Qayum Ebrahimi.

At least 40 people were wounded in the blast, he said.

“We were in a meeting. It was a very powerful explosion,” said Ebrahimi, who works in the district police office next door to the blast site. “People had gathered in the front of the department to get identification cards.”

BARAKA, Congo

Rape victims add testimony in conviction of army officer

One by one, the rape survivors relived their attacks for a panel of judges: A newly married bride flung her torn, bloodied clothing onto the courtroom floor. A mother of six dropped to her knees, raised her arms and cried out for peace.

Nearly 50 women poured out their stories in a wave of anguish that ended Monday with the conviction of an army colonel for crimes against humanity – a landmark verdict in this Central African country where thousands are believed to be raped each year by soldiers and militia groups who often go unpunished.

It was the first time a commanding officer had been tried in such an attack.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Lt. Col. Mutuare Daniel Kibibi, who was accused of ordering his troops on New Year’s Day to attack the village of Fizi, a sprawling community 20 miles south of Baraka on an escarpment of mountains covered in banana trees.

Military prosecutor Col. Laurent Mutata Luaba said the men “behaved like wild beasts,” terrorizing defenseless civilians they had orders to protect.

JUNEAU, Aaska

Lawmaker refuses pat-down of her mastectomy prosthesis

An Alaska state lawmaker was making her way back to the state Capitol after refusing a pat-down search at a Seattle airport, a spokeswoman said.

Rep. Sharon Cissna underwent a body scan as she was preparing to leave Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Sunday and was then required to undergo the pat-down by Transportation Safety Administration officials, said Michelle Scannell, her chief of staff.

Scannell said the TSA called for the pat-down because the scan showed Cissna had had a mastectomy.

The TSA, on its website, says security officers “will need to see and touch your prosthetic device, cast or support brace as part of the screening process.”