In brief: Bomb in Kabul kills eight

Kabul, Afghanistan – A bomb hidden in a truck exploded in the center of the Afghan capital, killing eight people and wounding another 198, police and hospital officials said today.

Police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said the pre-dawn blast was near a Defense Ministry compound, but that all of the victims were civilians, including women and children.

Rahimi said the target of the blast, which blew out windows in nearby homes, was not known.

President of Poland cites Russian threat

Warsaw, Poland – New Polish President Andrzej Duda used his inauguration Thursday to call on NATO to better protect Eastern Europe from Russian aggression and pledged to make Poland a key force in resolving the conflict gripping neighboring Ukraine.

Speaking to lawmakers, the 43-year-old conservative said NATO needed more than a promised rapid-reaction force to bolster regional defenses and respond to destabilizing interference, such as the Moscow-backed separatist rebellion ravaging Ukraine.

Poles are particularly wary of newly aggressive Russia’s intentions. A survey of 39 countries by the Pew Research Center that was released this week showed that Poles have the highest degree of negative sentiment against Russia, with 80 percent of respondents expressing distrust of Putin and his government.

Activity at Iranian site raises questions

Vienna – Satellite imagery of an Iranian site possibly used for work on a nuclear weapon shows crates, trucks and construction that may be linked to a renewed attempt to clean up before an inspection by the U.N.’s nuclear monitor, a nonproliferation institute said Thursday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency – the U.N. watchdog – has repeatedly cited previous evidence of possible attempts to sanitize the Parchin site.

But the report by the Institute for Science and International Security is significant because the IAEA plans to visit the site soon as part of the deal between Iran and six world powers focused on limiting Iran’s nuclear programs in exchange for the removal of economic sanctions.

The institute cited commercial satellite images in an email to the Associated Press, saying they show “renewed activity” at the site. It said that “could be related to refurbishment or cleanup prior to any IAEA inspection or the taking of environmental samples.”